William Harry Holmes was the son of John Nilsson Holmes and Ida May McKinney. He was the fourth child of their 7 children. He left grade school after 7th grade to work in the nearby coal mine with his father and older brothers. In his mid-teens, he became interested in automobiles and worked for his brother-in-law, Art Dalton, for several years as a mechanic. He married Julia Handzo in 1928. Harry met Julia on a blind date. A workmate of Julia in Peoria had a date with a young man from Farmington and her date didn't have a car. Harry had a car and provided the transportation for all four people. The date work out well and it created a relationship that lasted over 50 years until Harry died. Harry started his own business in the late 1920s as a gasoline station and auto repair facility. In the late 1930s, he moved his business and built a larger facility to do automobile repairs. He also established a Hudson new car dealership. He eventually added the Buick product line to his offering. Harry and Julia had 5 children. The first child, Barbara Jean Holmes, lived only 5 days and died of pneumonia. The remaining four - all boys - were Harry John Holmes (1932), Robert Leroy Holmes (1934), Richard Dean Holmes (1936) and Kenneth Eugene Holmes (1940). Known for most of his life as "Harry". He became very active in the Farmington Methodist Church following the death of his mother in 1951 and virtually took a year off from his business to build a substantial wing to the church. The wing was named in his honor as a dedication to his shortly following his death.
William Harry Holmes was the son of John Nilsson Holmes and Ida May McKinney. He was the fourth child of their 7 children. He left grade school after 7th grade to work in the nearby coal mine with his father and older brothers. In his mid-teens, he became interested in automobiles and worked for his brother-in-law, Art Dalton, for several years as a mechanic. He married Julia Handzo in 1928. Harry met Julia on a blind date. A workmate of Julia in Peoria had a date with a young man from Farmington and her date didn't have a car. Harry had a car and provided the transportation for all four people. The date work out well and it created a relationship that lasted over 50 years until Harry died. Harry started his own business in the late 1920s as a gasoline station and auto repair facility. In the late 1930s, he moved his business and built a larger facility to do automobile repairs. He also established a Hudson new car dealership. He eventually added the Buick product line to his offering. Harry and Julia had 5 children. The first child, Barbara Jean Holmes, lived only 5 days and died of pneumonia. The remaining four - all boys - were Harry John Holmes (1932), Robert Leroy Holmes (1934), Richard Dean Holmes (1936) and Kenneth Eugene Holmes (1940). Known for most of his life as "Harry". He became very active in the Farmington Methodist Church following the death of his mother in 1951 and virtually took a year off from his business to build a substantial wing to the church. The wing was named in his honor as a dedication to his shortly following his death.
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