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Charles Robert Holmes, 85, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 19, 2004. He was born in the small town of Kemmerer, WY on October 11, 1918 and was the sixth and last surviving child of Matilda and Ernest Holmes. Alert to the end, but suffering declining physical health, he died in his sleep in his beloved home in Socorro, NM. He was preceded in death by Dorothy, his wife of 55 years. He is survived by his children and grandchildren: Bill; Margaret and her three children, Michael, Anna and Lily; and Emily and her husband, Bruce and their two children, Ian and Eric. After graduating from high school, Charles worked for three years in the coal mines in Kemmerer, which remains today a one-industry town. Feeling the call of higher learning, he enrolled in the University of Wyoming only to have his education interrupted by World War II. He moved to Los Angeles, CA and worked for Lockheed Aircraft supporting the intensive manufacturing effort to supply planes. In 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Force graduating in September from Cadet Training School, Grand Rapids, MI, commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Trained in weather forecasting, he was stationed in England for the duration of the War as a crew member flying missions over the North Atlantic. In 1945 he returned home to court and marry the girl next door, Dorothy Biggane, who had recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. They were married on a snowy January 12, 1946. Wishing to continue in the field of meteorology, he applied to the University of St. Louis where he received his BS and MS in Geophysics. First born Ernest William (Bill) arrived in 1947. Following graduation in 1949, Charlie and Dorothy moved to Socorro for the first of three stints at New Mexico Tech. He left twice, once for the lure of another job, and again to complete his Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State College. During the moving times, Margaret Ellen was born in 1951 in Socorro and Emily Marie in 1956 in Denver, CO. He returned to Tech and Socorro for good in 1959 to raise his family and pursue a career in atmospheric physics. He concentrated on teaching and research, studying thunderstorms. He was named full professor in 1965 and was appointed Acting President of the college in 1982. After performing the duties of interim president for one year, he returned to teaching and research, the loves of his professional life. He retired in 1988 to walks with his dog Lacy and to many family and travel activities with Dorothy. At his request, private services will be followed by interment in the family plot in Belen, NM. Cremation arrangements are under the care of Steadman-Hall Funeral Home, 309 Garfield, Socorro, NM.
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