Holmes, of Brockton, February 3, 2003, Frank W. Holmes Jr. 82 years. Husband of Ethel F. (Heina) Holmes. Father of Kim Meredith Holmes and her husband Kerwin James Mumford of Brockton and Lee Holmes Ozelius and her husband Daniel Ozelius of Brockton. Grandfather of Brenna and Matthew Holmes-Mumford and Alexander “Pasha” Holmes Ozelius.
Funeral from the J. Frank Conley Funeral Home, 138 Belmont Street (Rte 123) Brockton Friday at 8am. Funeral Service in Christ Congregational Church UCC at 9am. Burial in Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting Hours Thursday 2-4 and 6-8pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hospice of Greater Brockton, 500 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA 02301 or the American Cancer Society, 115 West Chestnut St., Ste #301, Brockton, MA 02301.
Obituary Information
Frank Weldon Holmes, Jr. died at home on Monday February 3rd, 2003 after a lengthy battle with esophageal cancer. He and his wife Ethel (Heina) Holmes had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on August 23, 2003.
He was born on November 11, 1920 in Brockton, the son of the late Frank Weldon and Mildred (Austin) Holmes, Sr. and was a life-long resident of the city. He graduated in 1939 from Brockton High School and also attended the Williams Business School. Mr. Holmes served in the United States Air Force in World War II. He was a navigator on a B-29 bomber in the China-Burma-India Theater. His plane developed mechanical problems in flight and went down in China on June 8, 1944. Except for one man who did not bail out of the plane, the entire crew survived. It took them until July 7, 1944 to walk part-way back to their base and be rescued. The entire story was re-told in the book Journey of The Giants-the Story of the B-29 Superfort.
After the war, he served as the Veterans’ Agent at Brockton City Hall and then spent the rest of his career working for Standard Service Bureau of Boston. He was also a member of the USAF Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970.
He was a supporter of the Berwick Boy’s Foundation for many years and he was the first president of the then newly-formed Band Boosters Association at Brockton High School.
In addition to his wife he leaves his two daughters and their families, Kim Meredith Holmes, her husband Kerwin James Mumford, and children Brenna and Matthew Holmes-Mumford of Brockton and Lee and Daniel Ozelius and their son Alexander “Pasha” Holmes Ozelius also of Brockton. He also leaves many cousins, nieces and nephews, mainly of Cape Cod
His funeral will be at 8am on Friday at J. Frank Conley Funeral Hone, 138 Belmont St. Brockton followed by a service at Christ Congregational Church UCC 1350 Pleasant Street Brockton at 9am. Burial will be at 11:00am at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne.