Ethel McPhail Holmes died after a long period of illness into the loving arms of her Lord. She was a lifelong resident of the Eastover/Wade area as well as a lifelong member of the Bluff Presbyterian Church. She was dedicated in her attendance in the Sunday School program in the Friendship Class as long as her health allowed her presence. She was a devoted member of the Lillian McNeil Circle delighting in hosting the circle in her home. She was awarded a lifetime membership in the Women of the Church Organization by the Prebyterian Women.

She lived a long life being the last of the Hugh Alexander and Rachel Cook McPhail children to pass on. Of her siblings, there were four other sisters (Janie McPhail Bain, Maggie Bell McPhail Williams, Emaline McPhail Walker and Rebecca McPhail Smith) and one brother (Edward "Ed" Agusta McPhail). Married to the late William Robert Holmes, she also lived longer than all but two of her children - daughters Lucy Lane Holmes, Doris Holmes Williams and Helen Holmes LaGatta and sons, Kenneth Taylor Holmes and William Robert Holmes, Jr. and step daughter, Pattie Holmes Cooper all passed before her. Surving are step-daughter, Margaret Holmes Suderski of Chicago, Illinois and Seavy Lee Holmes of Wade, North Carolina. She also showed a great deal of care for her many nieces and nephews and other children in the area. She is survived by fourteen grandchildren and twenty-two great grandchildren.

Her life was maked by a thoughtful, generous, humble and gracious spirit. A good neighbor, she held a remarkable memory of past events and people and was something of a living history data bank of the Wade area going back a century and beyond. To the end, she enjoyed visitors and in sharing memories with company. A woman who lived by modest standards, simple gifts such as a stick of peppermint candy would bring her great joy. She was truly a remarkable woman.