ERNIE HOLMES DIES IN OMAHA

Was Brother of Oscar Holmes of This City

Ernie Holmes, well known philanthropist of Omaha, and a brother of Oscar Holmes of this city, died Wednesday, his death being due to heart disease and complications. He had been ill since July, 1925 when he suffered a paralytic stroke while on a tour of the west coast.

Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 10 o’clock and interment will be made in the Forest Lawn cemetery at Omaha.

Surviving are his wife, Rose; two sons, Eugene and Jack; a daughter, Rose Mary; two brothers, William “Ducky” Holmes of Omaha and Oscar Holmes, Blair, Neb., and a sister, Mrs Henry Carter of Omaha.

Mr. Holmes had lived in Omaha for 45 years, and it was as a newsboy on the streets that he learned to sympathize with the poor and unfortunate. This sympathy, when he became more prosperous, led to the annual free Christmas dinners for “down and outers”, for which he became noted.

The first of these dinners “to all the poor and Hungry of Omaha”, was given on Christmas Day, 1921, as an experiment. His billiard parlor where the feast was spread drew 1,617 men, women and children. Thereafter it was a annual event. On the eight Christmas Days since then, dinners with all the holiday trimmings were served to a total of more than 16 thousand persons. None was barred - no race, no creed or color.

Last Christmas Mr. Holmes was ill at his home. His place as host was taken by his brother, “Ducky,” and his sons, Eugene and Jack, aided by fellow students, served as waiters. The record dinner was ins 1927 when 2,500 persons were fed.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file at the Blair Public Library.~~~

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