Geraldine "Gerri" Ann Kaufman Holmes

Geraldine “Gerri” Anne Kaufman Holmes, born April 5, 1935, died of natural causes on March 18, 2024, just short of her 89th birthday. 

Gerri was the youngest of four children, born to Louise Michel and William Lamont Kaufman. Growing up in St. Paul, MN, Gerri attended St. Luke’s grade school and St. Joseph’s Academy. Her cousin and dear friend Barb Kueppers Fitzpatrick remembers many days walking home from school together down Summit Avenue. Gerri spent summers on Grey Cloud Island, a pleasant oasis outside the city, where they had a real ice box for their refrigerator. At Grey Cloud Island, Gerri rode her first horse, a neighbor’s retired polo pony named Alice. Gerri was very industrious, always having a job, from baby-sitting to book-keeping. In 1956, her adventurous spirit led her to Europe, traveling by ship with five girlfriends.

Gerri attended college in St. Paul briefly before heading west to Colorado where she worked for Ralph & Marion Melville at The Mountain Chalet, a start-up business at the base of Aspen Mountain. In Colorado, Gerri met the love of her life, Ted Holmes, whom she married December 30, 1961, just one year after they met. 

Gerri and Ted raised two boys on South Jackson Street, in southeast Denver’s Wellshire Heights neighborhood. Much like her dad, she loved flowers and gardening; she had great pride in Como Park in her native St. Paul. Gerri also became a master gardener (from CSU). For decades she tended to her greenhouse where she grew a blossoming orange tree, Jade, and always commented with amazement on her masterful Philodendron that grew for 50 years! She had great pride in what she called her “Mom’s car,” the 1989 Buick Century Station Wagon she bought after her mother died, and hung onto that car for 34 years. Gerri was a volunteer with PBS in Denver for several years. 

Gerri and Ted had a happy marriage; these were two people who were solid, deeply connected, caring and fun. They loved taking an annual trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Gerri enjoyed hot air ballooning, launching out of Castlewood Canyon, south of Denver. She and Ted and their partners owned one of Colorado’s first hot air balloons. 

In 1980, Ted and Gerri bought an old home in Silver Plume, Colorado, alongside the river. In Silver Plume, she became the local historian, energizing the town with history and beauty. She took over the gardens around City Hall. Gerri took historical ownership of the city and made a great effort to memorialize the city for its significance in Colorado’s mining history. Gerri and Ted loved being part of Silver Plume. 

Gerri was a positive and friendly spirit, neighborly, out-going and easy to talk to. Her glass was always three quarters full, and she carried any tough times with her “ah shucks” attitude if things went south. 

Gerri is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, Ted Holmes, son Cris of Highlands Ranch, CO, brother Jim of Wayzata, MN, and many beloved cousins including Barb Kueppers Fitzpatrick of St. Paul, MN and Bill Binet of Denver, CO. She is preceded in death by son Tod, sisters Carole Defrese of Los Angeles, CA and Patricia Knapp of Nashville, TN. Her family is grateful to neighbors Mary and Jeff who called on Gerri regularly, and to Sunrise at Pinehurst for hospice care services in the last few weeks of her life. 

A Celebration of Life will be planned later in the Spring. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to the Dumb Friends League of Denver.