Ms. Emma Holmes
Emma Laura (Dowell) Holmes was born in Pollard, Alabama on April 7th, 1927 to Louis (Sr.) and Nelia Caffey Dowell. She was the second oldest of four children.
Emma accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior as a yound child. Simply put, Emma loved God and loved family and she spent her life serving both.
After graduating high school, she attended Kent State University and received her Masters Degree from John Carroll.
She married Edward Prince Holmes and from their union came two children – Deborah Lynn and Bruce Alan.
Having relocated to Shaker Heights, Ohio, Emma became a consistent and active member of First Greater New Zion Baptist in Cleveland, OH. She faithfully served in both the Mother’s Guild and the Nurses Guild until her health failed. She was an intercessor and believed in a God who answers prayer. She opened her home to the Prayer Band, in which, she and other members of the Church gathered to pray for their Church, their community and their families.
Having retired from the Cleveland Board of Education after 26 years of service, Emma satisfied her love of travel and of continual learning. She continued to enroll in various classes and relocated to California to live with her daughter – Deborah. She was a very giving person – not only tithing in her local Church, but giving freely into the lives of others also.
She possessed a strong desire to keep the family together and modeled love and care before them. No obstacle would prevent her from spending time with her loved ones.
She was a very loving mother – in word and in deed – always showing bother her devotion to and enjoyment of her children.
Emma Laura (Dowell) Holmes was preceded in death by her parents (Louis and Nelia Dowell), Husband (Edward Prince Holmes), two brothers (Larry Dowell and Louis Dowell III), and a stepdaughter (Barbara Holmes Langley). She is survived by her children, (Deborah Lynn Holmes, and Bruce Alan Holmes – both of Shaker Heights, OH), a sister (Fannie C. Milliner, Huntsville, AL), and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.