Elvira Rabenhorst Holmes

Holmes, Elvira R., born Elvira Helena Sophia Rabenhorst on June 16, 1918, passed away on May 15th, 2014. Elvira was born in Wayside, Wisconsin, in her mother’s family home. She was the daughter of Arthur W. Rabenhorst and Alma Natzke Rabenhorst. After World War I, Art and Alma moved to the Rabenhorst homestead, near Maribel, WI. There they had a small farm with a sawmill and a gravel business. Elvira’s independent personality always served her well, as she learned to drive the gravel truck at the age of 14, and later in life stated that she was at times called upon to make gravel deliveries, including depositing the gravel from the dump truck, when her father was otherwise busy. She attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Maribel, then graduated from Denmark (WI) High School in 1936. Proving that a young woman could make her own way in the world, she worked at Maribel State Bank from 1936 to 1942, and then at the West Side State Bank in Green Bay from 1942 to 1943. She subsequently moved to Milwaukee to attend business school. In her recollections she said of these times, “And there was the Depression. I, of course, didn’t know it was a depression. It was a way of life. We always had food.” In 1944, Elvira traveled to Tucson with her Aunt Martha, who was ill and required a change in environment. Imagine two young women travelling by themselves at that time, across country to a place neither had ever seen and where no family awaited them! Martha stayed in Tucson while Elvira continued on in her travels, visiting Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana, New York and Washington, D.C. In 1945, as a single female armed with experience in banking and a letter of introduction to an officer at Southern Arizona Bank and Trust Company, Elvira moved permanently to Tucson, a city of approximately 35,000 people. Southern Arizona Bank and Trust was unable to hire her because they did not hire women as tellers. However, Thanksgiving week in 1945, she gained employment at Tucson Title Insurance Company, where she worked for over 20 years, the last five of which she was a Title Examiner. Elvira’s first home in Tucson was located on a small dirt road called First Avenue, way out of the center of town at about Glenn. She married Wayne Phillip Holmes in 1947, and they had two sons, Jerry in 1950 and Donald in 1958. Jerry was enrolled in Kindergarten at Redeemer Lutheran School, thus beginning for Elvira a fulfilling and remarkable run of 18 consecutive years on the PTA at Redeemer School while Jerry and then Donald completed their K through 8th Grade educations. In 1972, single again after divorce, she was employed by the City of Tucson as the first female Right of Way Agent, and continued working for the City until her retirement in 1984. Elvira’s retirement years were filled with travel, much of it in a camper all around Arizona. She also visited most other states and took two tours of Europe. Her pride, however, was her family, and she loved spending time with her children and grandchildren. Joining the congregation of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church upon her arrival in Tucson, Elvira remained a lifelong member. She frequently expressed gratitude for her religious upbringing, and found great comfort knowing that God was always by her side. She sought to raise her children according to Solomon’s observations in Proverbs, “Teach a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it.” She now has her reward in heaven for quietly teaching us all how to live righteously and conscientiously. Elvira is survived by her sons Jerry Holmes (wife Kathy Anderson) and Donald Holmes (wife Nancy Scott), her grandchildren, Colin Holmes and Cailin Holmes, and her brother Arthur Rabenhorst (wife Virginia) and his family. All are welcome at the graveside services which will be held at South Lawn Cemetery on May 31 at 10:00 a.m. A reception will follow at the home of Jerry Holmes and Kathy Anderson, 4426 E Linden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Education Fund, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 830 N First Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719.