- State: Illinois
Carol Elizabeth (Rush) Holmes, 73, of Freeport, died Monday, December 18, at Monroe Clinic Hospital in Monroe, WI after a brave battle with cancer.
Born September 8, 1933 in Clinton, IA to Irwin and Wilma (Robbe) Rush of Mt. Carroll, she graduated from Mt. Carroll High School in 1951. She married her high school sweetheart, Ronald G. Holmes of Chadwick, IL on July 14, 1951.
She worked at the Savanna Army Depot during the Korean War while Ron served in the navy, and later worked at Carthage College and then Shimer College. She and Ron later moved to Freeport where she worked for over 25 years at Western States Insurance as Supervisor of word processing. She was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Freeport.
She loved nature, and particularly enjoyed bird watching at her home in the Willow Lake subdivision, where she lovingly fed the geese, ducks, and other birds that frequented her yard. She and husband Ron also loved cross country skiing and hiking, and they took countless trips together over the years, always with the emphasis on nature watching.
One of her favorite trips included whale watching on the east coast, and she also participated in the Adopt-A-Wolf program, providing funding to the Sawtooth wolf pack, a program that was very near and dear to her heart. She cherished her family most of all, and devoted her life to them.
She is survived by beloved husband Ron; two sons, Steven Elliot (Dianne) Holmes of Monroe Wisconsin and their three children, Jenny, Sean, and Terry Jo, and Jeffery Holmes of Freeport, and his two children, Nathaniel and Derek; one sister, Joan Hough of Mt. Carroll, Il, and her three daughters, Susan, Sarah, and Elizabeth; one grand niece and four grand nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and one infant brother, David.
