Wilhelmena "Lil Sister" Wilson-Holmes

HAINES CITY -- Mrs. Wilhelmena "Lil Sister" Wilson-Holmes was known for her near photographic memory. And up until a few years ago, when she would run into former students that she had taught 30 to 35 years ago, she could remember their first and last names. The retired school teacher died of complications of Alzheimer's disease Tuesday (April 6, 2004) at Lake Wales Hospital. She was 77. "My Mama was an honor student from kindergarten all the way through college," her son, Claude E. Holmes II of Haines City said. "The advice that she gave anybody, you could take it and run to the bank with it." Born in Tampa on July 22, 1926, she was the oldest girl of 14 children in the family. She graduated from Middleton High School in Tampa in 1944 and graduated cum laude in 1948 from Spellman College in Atlanta, with degrees in history and social studies. She furthered her studies at FAMU. She came to Haines City from Tampa in 1942. Mrs. Wilson-Holmes' career in education started at Marshall High School in Plant City where she taught history and spanish. After her husband, the late Claude E. Holmes, who was the first black mayor of Haines City, opened Claude E. Holmes and Son Funeral Home in 1957. Mrs. Wilson-Holmes retired from her teaching job to help out at the funeral home. She was a member of the Classroom Teachers Association. She was a member of St. Mary's Primitive Baptist Church in Haines City. Mrs. Wilson-Holmes was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Claude E. Holmes Sr., in 1989. In addition to her son, she is survived by her stepson, Glennis Holmes, Lakeland; stepdaughter, Claudette Dula, St. Petersburg; brothers, Rudolph Wilson, Lansing, Mich., Walter Wilson, Dallas, Howard Wilson, Palm Coast; sisters, Betty Jo Menendez, Miriam Allen, and Norma Jean Pitts, all of Tampa; three grandchildren; one great-grandchild. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Claude Holmes Sr. Memorial Chapel, 601 Claude Holmes Sr. Ave., Haines City. Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Mary's P.B. Church, 2855 Orchid Drive, Haines City. Burial will be on Tuesday in Tampa.