Joan Marie Holmes, age 89, of Kenosha, passed away on August 17th, 2023, at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha. She was born on March 6th, 1934, to the late John and Marie (Voeltner) Buchacek in Waukegan, IL. She graduated from Waukegan High School in 1951 after skipping a grade. On April 18th, 1954, she married Harry Holmes at Waukegan Emmanuel Lutheran Church. She worked at Abbott Laboratories for over 20 years and retired in 1994. She later relocated to Kenosha in 1995 and remained here until her passing.
Joan loved to garden, read mystery novels, participated in Bible studies and her women’s group at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church for many years. Joan loved telling the story of the time she spent in Europe with her good friend Marilyn. The two ladies traveled by bus and train, and explored Germany, France, and the Netherlands together. But nothing was more important to her than her family. She always looked forward to every family gathering. She was particularly thrilled to have become a great grandmother and was blessed 3 years ago with the birth of her great grandson.
She is survived by her son: John Holmes, daughters: Jeanne Hoffman, and Donna (Jerry) Plunkett, grandchildren: Dante (Lisandra) Salinas, David Plunkett, Michael Plunkett, James Hoffman III, and Daniel Hoffman, and a great grandson: Mack Salinas. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and son in law: James Hoffman.
The family would like to thank the entire staff at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha for all their wonderful care. The family would also like to thank Dr. Alby Antoo and Dr. Prakash Shah for all their compassion and attentive care over the years.
Services for Joan will be held at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church on Friday, August 25th, 2023, at 11 A.M. A visitation with the family will be held at 10 A.M. until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. Mary’s Lutheran Church in Joan’s name are appreciated.
