Terrance Maurice Holmes' Obituary
Terrance Maurice Holmes was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on August 7, 1958. My big brother was pretty much an early birthday present for my Mom as her birthday was on August 9th. He was happily welcomed into the family, with her sisters taking turns taking care of the new baby. Everything was going along fine until he was about two years old; back then, interior house paint had lead in it and he ate some of the paint chips and ended up suffering from lead poisoning. He almost died but the doctors were able to save his life. Unfortunately, he became mentally disabled from the poisoning. He had a pretty regular early childhood but wasn’t able to go to school with the other kids his age because of his disability (they didn’t have that back then). Four years after Terry was born, he welcomed his little brother into the family.
Terry loved riding his bike and playing basketball. He moved with his family to Germany when his Dad was stationed there for 4 years at Ramstein AFB. Germany was a nice place to be; they all went on lots of camping trips and sightseeing; also went to visit Mom’s sister’s family who were also stationed in Germany at that time. When they finally returned to the States, the first place they went to was McDonald’s because at that time, McDonald’s hadn’t arrived in Germany. Four years of NO McDonald’s!!
Terry settled with his family in Lakewood Washington. Terry did get to go to school at this stage in his life at American Lake South School. He eventually graduated from American Lake South and was able to go work at Qualitex, a motherboard component assembly company in Lakewood Washington. He worked there for about ten years until the company ended up moving to another location.
One of the things that Terry loved was music. Mostly Motown, but whatever had a good beat or sound. There were dances at the Lakewood Community Center that were held by GLADD, Greater Lakewood Association for Developmentally Disabled, a cause/group co-founded by Terry’s mother, Marlene Holmes. Terry’s Dad, Jesse Holmes was frequently the DJ at these dances which were a great outlet for the developmentally disabled in the community. They were joyous little occasions. Terry’s little brother Steven had a few of the bands he played in come and perform at the dances. Those were very special occasions loved by all!
Terry moved away from home to go and live with care takers Wes and Anita Johnson. Terry was Wes’s buddy. We loved Terry very much and took such great care of him while Terry lived there. Wes was Terry’s Guardian Angel here on Earth. He was a complete blessing for Terry and Terry’s parents. Terry lived with Wes and Anita for about 30 years. As time goes by, we all age and there came a point where Wes was not able to maintain the care that he knew Terry deserved and sadly knew Terry would have to move on to another caretaker. As heartbreaking as that was, Wes helped Steven choose a wonderful, caring place to have Terry live at. Valley Supported Living, which has group home in South Hill Puyallup. Terry adjusted well to the move and was doing fine until he had a stroke in 2021. The stroke paralyzed Terry on his left side and in addition to that, he could no long take solid food. Terry loved to eat and pizza was one of his favorite foods. He was put into hospice care at home and his doctor suggested he have a feeding tube which worked for quite awhile. He slowly was getting better but then at some point he could no longer take the feeding tube and that began the end of life hospice care. The staff and VSL kept Terry comfortable and were exceptional in their care of him. Everyone loved Terry. He was a gentle soul who will be missed by all who knew him.
Terry’s parents Marlene Lenore (Ward) Holmes and Jesse Holmes proceeded him in death. His remaining sibling Steven Leroy Holmes lives in Lakewood with his wife Pamela Ann (Finney) Holmes. He was the uncle of Jayme Dillion, Isaiah Holmes and Christian Holmes. He also had aunts from his Mom’s side of the family, Donna Brinson, Candice Chandler, Sherry Eddington and Linda Hudson-Smith (deceased). Also two uncles; Richard Ward III (deceased) from his mother’s side of the family and Thomas Holmes (deceased) from his dad’s side of the family.
We would like to thank all who have a nice thought and prayer for Terry.
Terry will be interred at Mount View Memorial and Funeral Home June 1, 2023 at 10:30 am.
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