Mary F. Holmes

Mary Farish Holmes, 91, a long-time resident of Jackson, died of heart failure Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at the home of her beloved daughter Mary Ann Mobley Collins in Beverly Hills,California. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Services will be held Saturday, April 25, 2009, at 2 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson with burial at Wright & Ferguson Parkway Memorial Cemetery. Visitation is Friday, April 24, 2009, from 5 pm to 8 pm at the funeral home and Saturday at 1 pm at the First Presbyterian Church.
A native of Hinds County, Mrs. Holmes was born at home in Jackson on November 5, 1917. She was the daughter of the late William Clancy ("Peck") Farish and Mary Irene Stuart Farish. She spent her early years in the Pearson Community where it was not unusual to see her riding her horses at a full gallop while standing straight up IN the saddle. But what else could you expect from someone who swam the Tchoutacabouffa River alone at the age of 10?!
Mrs. Holmes graduated from Central High School in Jackson and attended the University of Alabama. She lived many years in Brandon, Mississippi where she was both a businesswoman and homemaker, married to the late David Williams. For much of her career, she held a Senior Management position at the Mississippi Employment Security Commission and later worked for years as an administrative liaison in the Mississippi State Senate.
In 1986, the Los Angeles-based Westside Women's Clinic honored her as one of ten "Women of Achievement" for her dedication to helping other women. This was followed by a proclamation from then-Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. She was also active in the March of Dimes and the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America, serving as a tireless advocate for both causes. In her later years, she became involved with the National Juvenile Diabetes Foundation after one of her great-grandsons was diagnosed with the illness.
In 1989, she married the late Dr. Verner Smith Holmes, of McComb. Dr. Holmes was a beloved physician whose influence on higher education in Mississippi is written in history. Dr. and Mrs. Holmes lived in McComb for many happy years and maintained contacts with family and friends there after retiring to Jackson.
As family friend and author A.J. Carothers once said, "God blessed us all by granting her a long life, giving several generations the opportunity to be acquainted with a true lady. She was certainly of the South, with Southern charm and Southern strength and, following a great Southern tradition, she practiced the fine art of flirtation with a delicacy that put any man, of any age, at her quick disposal. I am proud to admit that I was one of her many conquests."
She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church and its Sunday School. Her family were charter members of the Central Presbyterian Church in Jackson. Mrs. Holmes was also a member of the J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church in McComb.
She is survived by two daughters, Mary Ann Mobley Collins and Sandra Williams Young; their respective spouses, Gary Collins and Dr. E. Dixon Young; four grandchildren, Clancy Collins White, Guy William Collins, Lynn Covington Fifer and Katherine Fogerty Young; two great-grandsons, Garrett and Gaston Collins; one step-son, Verner S. Holmes, Jr.; and one step-daughter Lissa Holmes Covington and her husband, Jim Covington.
Memorials may be made to The Breast Cancer Center at John Wayne Cancer Institute, attention Dr. Armando E. Giuliano. 2200 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90404.