Shirley Louise Holmes

Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford Shirley Louise Hollowell Holmes, 84, passed away on Friday, December 08, 2023 at her residence. The family will receive friends on Sunday, December 17, 2023, from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM at Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford. The funeral service celebrating her life will occur on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at 2:00 PM in the Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford chapel, with interment in Yellow Leaf Cemetery. Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford is in charge of arrangements. Shirley was welcomed into this world on the winter day of December 20, 1938, in the Fudgetown Community of Lafayette County by her late parents, John Renard Hollowell and Emma Lee Parker Hollowell. She attended Oxford Elementary School and later graduated from University High School on May 24, 1956; upon completing High School, she continued her education at Draughns Business School in Memphis, Tennessee. However, Shirley returned home and married her late husband, Howard Edison Holmes, on May 07, 1959. The couple spent an expansive forty-eight years together before Howard passed away in 2007. This union gave life to two children and two grandchildren and made an immeasurable number of memories along the path of life. Aside from her wife, mother, and grandmother role, she provided for her family through employment with the Lafayette County Health Department as a clerk. After many years of dedicated service, she retired in 2002 and found the time to enjoy her golden years of life. Before finding employment with the health department, Shirley worked for Bette’s Flowers, James Down State Farm Insurance Agency, Chambers Corporation, and the University of Mississippi. In addition to her work life, Shirley was a devoted member of Yellow Leaf Baptist Church. During her longtime membership at the church, she served for several years as the pianist and church clerk while simultaneously disciplining the young girls about the ways of Christ through the Girls In Action program. Also, with assistance from her husband Howard, she planned and directed the children’s Christmas program for many years. In conjunction with her ability to play the piano, Shirley turned the melody in her early twenties for a quartet of her friends Karl Metts, Robert Ed Jones, Sybil Hill, and Jesse Hardin. Although Shirley has departed from our presence, her treasured memory will hold a special place in the hearts and minds of her loved ones. She leaves behind a loving family to continue walking down the path of life in her daughter, Susan (Bill) Sparks of Oxford, Mississippi; and two grandchildren, John Alexander of Cary, North Carolina and Holly White of Oxford. The loved ones that departed from this life before her include her beloved husband, Howard Edison Holmes; her daughter, Sydney Holmes; her parents, John Renard Hollowell and Emma Lee Parker Hollowell; two brothers, James Howard Hollowell and Rev. Thomas Linder Hollowell; her paternal grandparents, John Quince Hollowell and Ida Gregory Hollowell; and her maternal grandparents, Jesse Parker, Sr. and Claudie Baughman Parker. The family would also like to give a special thanks to Spring Valley Hospice and her wonderful nurse, Sonya, who never failed to show the love, patience, and care needed for Mrs. Shirley. The Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford staff is honored to serve the family as they walk through this challenging season of life. Online condolences may be left on her Tribute Wall at www.colemanfuneralhome.com.

Shirley Louise Holmes

December 20, 1938 - December 8, 2023

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