Geraldine "Gerry" Edmonds Holmes, 55, of 515 Santa Clause Rd., Cedartown, passed away Wednesday, April 9, 2003. She was born Sept. 14, 1947 in Franklin, Tenn. to the late Mr. Joseph L. Edmonds and Clara Taylor Edmonds. She married Joseph Calloway "Cal" Holmes, Jr. on March 8, 1975. They had three children; America Cade Dempsey, born July 28, 1976 and a graduate of the University of Georgia; Mary Genevieve Holmes, born Dec. 15, 1978 and graduate of the University of the South and Joseph Calloway Holmes, III, a junior at the University of Georgia. She attended the University of the Americas in Mexico City in 1967. In 1969, she received her B.A. degree in English and French (majors) and Spanish and Sociology (minors) from the Siena College for Women. She received her Juris Doctor in 1973 from Memphis State University. Since 1975, Mrs. Holmes had been a practicing lawyer in Cedartown, most recently serving as the District Attorney for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit. In 1969 Holmes worked for Southern Farm Publications in Nashville, Tenn. There she served as coordinating editor and was responsible for proofing and layout of three farm magazines. She worked for Star Newspapers in Millington, Tenn. in 1970 and served as copy editor for two weekly suburban newspapers in the Memphis area. From 1972-1974 she worked as a law clerk and attorney for Dean Perry, an attorney in Memphis. Holmes worked for James I. Parker in Cedartown as a law clerk from 1974 until 1975. In 1974 she was admitted to all courts in the state of Tennessee and in 1975, she was admitted to all courts in the state of Georgia. She began working in 1975 for Mundy and Gammage, P.C. in Cedartown, serving as a personal injury attorney with emphasis on product liability and construction injuries. She left Mundy and Gammage, P.C. in 1998 and joined the Holmes Law Firm in Cedartown. There she began general trial practice that included criminal, domestic and family immigration laws. She also provided liability and personal injury services. She was sworn in July of 2002 as District Attorney for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit. Additionally, she was admitted to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts Western District o f Tennessee, Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia. Holmes participated in many professional and community service organizations. In 1982, she served as the President of the Tallapoosa Circuit Bar Association. She also served as Chairman of the Seventh District Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Service Academy Selection Committee for U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler and First Chairman of the Polk County Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Holmes also participated in the Cedartown Junior Service League and was a volunteer French teacher in the Polk Enrichment Program for gifted students at Cherokee Elementary School in Cedartown. She was appointed by the Superior Court Judges for establishment of the Polk County Child Abuse Protocol Committee, and also served as chairman. In 2000 and 2001, she served as Judge of the ATLA Appellate Advocacy Competitions. Holmes was a member of St. Bernadette Catholic Church and also served as communicant and organist there for 27 years. She was also a teacher of advanced English for Hispanics and until her death, served on the Federal Bar Council for the Northern District of Georgia and Committee on Discipline, U.S. District Courts, Northern District of Georgia. She was preceded in death by her father, Joseph L. Edmonds. Surviving are her husband, Joseph Calloway "Cal" Holmes, Jr. of Cedartown; her mother, Clara Taylor Edmonds of Franklin, Tenn.; a son, Joseph Calloway Holmes, III of Cedartown; daughter and son-in-law America Cade and Christopher Gaines Dempsey of Rome and daughter Mary Genevieve Holmes of Cedartown. Mass services for Mrs. Holmes were held Friday, April 11, 2003 at 1 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church with the Father Dan Stack officiating. Interment followed in the Greenwood Cemetery. Pallbearers were John Burkhart, John Husser, Mike McRae, Jule Peek, Richard Sutton and Jerry Weaver. Honorary pallbearers were the assistant District Attorneys and staff of the Tallapoosa Judicial Court Circuit. Persons wishing to make a donation in her memory to support research for pancreatic cancer may do so by contacting PanCan at 877-272-6226 or by making an online donation at www.pancan.org The Lester C. Litesey Funeral home had charge of the arrangements. (The Cedartown Standard, Cedartown, GA, April 15, 2003)