Stephen Clarence Holmes

Stephen Clarence Holmes, age 97, passed away at his daughter’s home in Culver, Oregon, March 21, 2023.

Steve was born in Clarksburg, California, to Clarence and Norma (Penny) Holmes on August 23, 1925.  He had an older brother, Robert (Bob) and a younger brother, Larry. Their mother, Norma, passed away in 1937.

The family lived in Clarksburg, Calif on a row crop farm were they grew a variety of crops including asparagus, sugar beets, tomatoes and strawberries.  He attended grade school in Clarksburg, spent his middle school years in San Francisco, and returned to Clarksburg for High School.  Steve participated in High School baseball and tennis.

Soon after graduation, his father bought a cattle ranch on Deer Creek, in Monument Oregon. Steve was sent ahead of the family, in 1944, to manage the property.  His father, stepmother Helen, and Larry, moved to the ranch in 1945 and brother, Bob, joined the family after the end of WW11.

Steve was a member of the Masons for 70+ years and served as Worthy Master in his home Lodge at Long Creek.  He belonged to the Scottish Rite and Shrine.  He was a member of the Elks for 60+ years and belonged to the Monument Grange. He played Town Team Baseball and did a lot of fishing and hunting. Also, he was active in the community.

Steve married LaVelle Foss, in Boise, in 1950 and they made the ranch their home. In 1955 the family bought a hay ranch between Monument and Kimberly.  In 1967 Steve and LaVelle bought a ranch on the Middle Fork of the John Day river.  They had a son Mike (wife Shirley) and daughter, Carrie.

Steve continued ranching and formed a construction company, Foss and Holmes, with his father-in-law, Bill Foss, and brother in law, Frances (Joe) Foss.  The company built highway bridges and did road construction until the death of Bill Foss.  Later Steve and his son, Mike, continued in the construction industry and brush piling and thinning for the Forest Service. 

A few years after a divorce in 1982, Steve sold the Monument ranch, bought a storage business in Culver, Oregon and property in Hawaii.  In Hawaii he built a house that had condo vacation rentals and a home.  He enjoyed ocean fishing, playing golf, tennis, as well as pig and turkey hunting.  Steve enjoyed meeting people from all over the world.  He returned to Oregon for a few months every year to see friends and family.  He remained active and traveled into his 90’s.

There will be a memorial service, in Monument, at a later date.  The family asks any contributions be made to the Shrine Hospital or MS society.

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