William King Holmes

1949 - 2025

William King Holmes, known to most as Bill Holmes, passed away peacefully at his home last month at the age of 76.

He is survived by his two children, Emily Jane "Emmie" Holmes of Mt. Pleasant, SC, and William "Brewer" Holmes, of St. Simons Island, GA. In addition, Bill is survived by his two grandsons, William Brewer "Bo" Holmes, Jr., and John Turner "JT" Holmes, also of St. Simons. Other survivors include his two older siblings, Susan Holmes Burkart and Joseph Calloway Holmes, Jr., both of Cedartown.

Born in Cedartown to Eloise Brewer Holmes and Joseph Calloway Holmes, Bill was a graduate of the Darlington School in Rome in 1967, after which he finished his education at the University of Georgia in 1971.

Bill went on to pursue a career as an underground contractor, laying fiber-optic cable throughout the country in the 70's and 80's, while building his business into what ultimately became a publicly traded company in 1990. A natural-born workaholic, he lived his life as fully as one could imagine, having traveled the world in perpetuity since his youth. Born with a truly larger-than-life personality, 'Bulldog Bill' followed his beloved Dawgs to the end, as hundreds of individuals can attest to the energy and enthusiasm with which he did so throughout his life.

An informal private ceremony will be held at noon on the 20th, followed by a reception at the Athens Country Club later that day.