RADM JOHN HOLMES U.S. Navy, Retired

Rear Admiral John B. Holmes, Dental Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), a board certified prosthodontist, passed away February 23, 2018. He was born March 20, 1929. He commanded personnel for Naval Dental Operations of the Atlantic Fleet and retired after 28 and one-half years of military service. Both warrior and scholar, RAdm Holmes followed his Naval career by serving at University of California, San Francisco Dental School as Associate Dean and Clinical Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Chairman, Division of Removable Prosthodontics. He then taught at the Loma Linda Dental School residency program, before retiring in his late 70s. RAdm Holmes’ seminal paper on "The Altered Cast Impression," (Dental Clinics of North America - Vol. 14, No. 3, July 1970) proved so foundational that it remains a standard in dental school textbooks today. RAdm Holmes enjoyed a long and happy marriage of 52 years with his first wife, Bette, an able and loving homemaker, churchwoman and Navy wife who supported his career achievements and helped make them all possible. Together, they reared their four children, Natally, Barbara, Julianna and John. RAdm Holmes served as president of the American College of Prosthodontists. He was honored with the prestigious Gies Award for Outstanding Innovation, Dental Educator. He held office as local chapter and regional president for the Navy League of the United States, and performed extensive volunteer work for the American Cancer Society. Graduating with a BS from the University of Idaho in 1950, RAdm Holmes went on to earn his DDS in 1954 from the University of Washington. He completed the residency program in prosthodontics at the Naval Postgraduate School and earned a master’s degree in Education from George Washington University. RAdm Holmes was proud of having worked summers during college in the Idaho mines and maintaining rail for the Canadian railway. He was literally "a steel-driving man." He played Canada’s national winter sport of ice hockey from boyhood. Born March 29, 1929 in British Columbia, the son of an Anglican Priest and his British wife, RAdm Holmes became a U.S. citizen in 1953. As a boy, he used to sleep on a cot in the church basement on Saturday nights to keep the coal furnace stoked so the building would be warm for Sunday masses. He was a choirboy from childhood and continued to sing in church choirs into his 80s. RAdm Holmes met his second wife, Carrie, when they were singing in an Anglican Church choir. They were blessed with a nine-year marriage of love, companionship and travel reaching to the Arctic Circle. Together, they checked off RAdm Holmes’ "bucket list," including a visit to his English cousins and attending the annual Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. RAdm Holmes breathed his last one month short of his 89th birthday, with Carrie at his hospital bedside. RAdm Holmes is survived by his wife, Carrie; his brother, Brian; his four children and their spouses; and grandchildren, Oscar and Luke Witte, and Reagan and Carson Holmes. Rear Admiral John B. Holmes was a man of unimpeachable character who honored God, loved life and knew what it means to serve. Full military honors funeral and internment at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to The United States Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004-2608.