Florence E. Holmes (Harris) age 79, of Wilmington, died peacefully surrounded by her loving family on January 11, 2016, at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers.
Florence was born on July 23, 1936, in Melrose, MA; she was the cherished daughter of the late Kendall and Lula Harris. Florence was raised and educated in Stoneham, MA, she was one of 11 siblings and grew up in a large and loving family.
Florence married “the love of her life” Robert Holmes on December 5, 1953; recently celebrating their 62nd Wedding Anniversary. Florence and Bob moved to Wilmington in 1965 where they raised five wonderful children. Florence loved taking care of her family; she worked hard cooking, cleaning, sewing, and raising her children, they were always her number one priority. Florence looked forward to family vacations and holidays, especially her Christmas Dinners where she would cook up a storm and enjoy being surrounded by family and friends.
Florence cherished every moment that she was surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; she was so proud of each and every one of them.
Prior to retiring, Florence worked hard as a quality control technician for Analog Devices in Wilmington for many years.
In her spare time, Florence enjoyed working in her yard and vacationing with her husband Bob; some of their more memorable trips included Florida, California, Europe, Paris, and the French countryside.
Florence will be fondly remembered as a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend to all. She was very kind, caring, and sweet; Florence would do anything for anyone and she will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Florence was the beloved wife of Robert E. Holmes, devoted mother of Robert E. Holmes, Jr. & his wife Wilma of Nashua, NH, Charles E. Holmes & his wife Victoria of Wilmington, Penny L. Holmes, Cherryl M. Coppola, and the late Amy Beth Holmes all of Wilmington. Loving Grandmother of Bobby, Tina, Tanya, John, Kathy, Joe, C.J., Jeannette, Paul, Jimmy, Anthony, and Amanda. Great-Grandmother of Kendra, Cassey, Jenifer, Gracie, Matthew, Kayleigh, Nathan, Jocelyn, Julia, John, Olivia, Lyndon, Ethan, and Matthew. Cherished daughter of the late Kendall and Lula (Forbes) Harris, dear sister of Dorothy Balestrieri of Tyngsboro, Susan Robbins of Wilmington, Virginia McGrath of Billerica, Helen Varney of TX, Linda Gray of Salem, NH, Dennis Harris of Florida, the late Bill Harris, Kendall Harris Jr., John Harris, and Betty Jones. Florence is also survived by many brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Family and friends will gather for Visitation at the Nichols Funeral Home, 187 Middlesex Ave. (Rte. 62), Wilmington, on Thursday, December 14th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. immediately followed by a Funeral Service at 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations in Florence’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.
(NOTE: The above obituary is from Nichols Funeral Home.)
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