DAVID CLARENCE "CASEY" HOLMES

December 3, 2023

David Clarence “Casey” Holmes of Mitchell, formerly of Kincardine, died Dec. 3, 2023, at Stratford General Hospital, at the age of 87. His hearty laugh and his quiet, kind ways are missed by all who knew him. Born Feb. 15, 1936, near Wingham, Clarence was the son of Edythe Francis Gossell (1910-69) of Bruce Township and David “Henry” Holmes (1900-39) of Turnberry Township. After his father died in 1939, his mother moved from Turnberry Township to Kincardine with her three children, Howard Kenneth (1931-2003), Dorothy Louise (1933-) and Clarence (1936-2023). Clarence grew up in Kincardine among his mother’s family of uncles, aunts and grandmother. He attended school and when he turned 18 in 1954, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), attaining the rank of Corporal when he left in 1959. He used the technical skills he’d gained working on radar for jets in the RCAF while working at Durrer’s Appliance Store and going to Fanshawe College. In March, 1961, Clarence married Guelda Marie Stapleton. He worked with Canada Post and served as the postmaster in Hepworth in 1978 and Bayfield in 1979, eventually moving on to work in Seaforth and Mitchell post offices. It was in Mitchell that he and Guelda settled down. He retired from his Mitchell Canada Post position in 1994. Clarence leaves behind his beloved wife, Guelda Holmes; and his sister, Dorothy Louise German. He will be missed by his many nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. Predeceased by his parents; his brother, Howard Kenneth Holmes; and his sister-in-law, Joyce (Viney) Holmes of Manitoulin Island; his sister’s husband, Gordan Sutherland German of Airdrie, Alberta; and his wife’s siblings, Glenn Douglas Stapleton, Linda Stapleton, Velma Mae Stapleton and her husband, Frederick Douglas Hollingworth, Cecil Russell Stapleton and his wife, Joan Mary McKinnon. A private burial will take place in the spring at the Knox Presbyterian Cemetery in Mitchell; arrangements entrusted to the Lockhart Funeral Home, Mitchell. In lieu of flowers, gifts and cards, memorial donations to a charity of your choice would be appreciated.