John Taylor Holmes, Jr.

John Taylor Holmes, Jr., 74, passed away Saturday, March 25, 2017, at Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines. John was born January 7, 1943, in Baltimore, MD. John’s father, John “Taylor” Holmes, Sr. and mother, Donnie Lou (Ransom) Holmes moved from the south to the east coast so that John Sr. could work in the shipyards during WWII. After the war, John’s family moved to Miami, FL, where John and his sister, Nona, grew up. He graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1960, and attended college at the University of Florida. [Go Gators!] John met his future wife, Margaret Mehne, while back in Miami on break his sophomore year. He received his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Florida in 1966. He earned his Doctorate in Education, specializing in literacy with a minor in statistics, from the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley) in 1972.

John and Margaret were married June 6, 1964, in Miami. They have two daughters, Sarah Margaret and Kathryn Louise. The family moved to the Des Moines area in 1974, when John became a professor of literacy education at Drake University. John also directed the Right to Read Program at Drake for a number of years. During this time, John became interested in the growing field of computer technology. He took a position at MidAmerican Energy, eventually becoming an IT manager. John retired from MidAmerican Energy in June of 2002.

John is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Pleasant Hill; daughters, Sarah Holmes (Kathleen) of Iowa City and Katie Holmes-Hegwood (Jason) of Pleasant Hill; grandchildren, Emma Jo Holmes-Wanlass (12), Laura (14), Keith (14) and Audrey (17) Friestad; sister, Nona Ackerson (Terry) of Inverness, FL; and nephew, Paul Ackerson of Miami, FL.

Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m., with funeral service at 12:00 p.m., followed by a luncheon reception, on Saturday, April 1, 2017, at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Pkwy, West Des Moines.

Memorial donations may be made to Taylor House Hospice, 3401 E Douglas Ave, Des Moines, IA 50317 or via www.unitypoint.org or to Parkinson’s Resource Organization, www.parkinsonsource.org.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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