Joel Blewett Holmes

Obituary Joel B. Holmes of Fort Collins passed away in Northglenn, Colorado on July 13, 2012. Joel was born May 21, 1953, in Paducah, Kentucky, to Clay Waller Holmes and Betty Jo Holmes (Blewett). He resided in Kentucky, Yuma, Arizona, Boise, Idaho, Bountiful, Utah and Estes Park, Colorado before moving to Fort Collins in 1980. Joel attended the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. Joel was most at home in the mountains, and loved climbing, camping and driving anywhere there was wilderness. Joel climbed more than 30 of Colorado's 14'rs and climbed to 17,000 feet on Mt. McKinley in Alaska. He was a gifted artist and storyteller and a lifelong student of history. He loved movies and his memory of movie lines was unparalleled, as many of his friends and colleagues will remember. He was also a skier, ice climber, swimmer and runner, and talented and avid builder of scale model castles. His favorite vacation was one he took to England and Wales in 2005 to see the many castles and Roman ruins with his wife and children. He had a dry sense of humor and loved British comedy. He instilled a love of history and movies in his children and will be remembered as a loyal friend and funny man. He began his working life in the furniture moving business, quickly moving to construction and finally to the production of electric power, after working to build Platte River Power Authority's Rawhide Energy Station, and finally as a Plant Manager at Xcel Energy's Cherokee Station in Denver, CO Joel was a beloved employee and supervisor and expert in the operations of a power plant. He treated people with respect and was always willing to share his knowledge. Joel was preceded in death by his father, Clay Waller Holmes, Sr. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Ellen Holmes, children Colin and Maggie of Fort Collins, his mother Betty Holmes of Albuquerque, NM, brothers Wes Holmes (Jill) of Farmington, UT, Clay W. Holmes, Jr. (Mary) and Robert Holmes (Kam) of Albuquerque NM, as well as numerous aunts uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. A memorial will be held at 1:00 p.m. on September 8, 2012 at the First United Methodist Church at 1005 Stover St., Fort Collins. Guests are invited to join the family at a reception in the church Library immediately following the service, and are also invited to join the family at a celebration of Joel's life from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 3313 Shore Rd. in Fort Collins. Memorial contributions may be made to the Animal House Rescue in Fort Collins, in care of Vessey Funeral Service, 2649 E. Mulberry, A1, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. Please visit www.vesseyfuneralservice.com to sign the family guest book and send your condolences. Read More Services You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of Joel Blewett Holmes