Violet May Holmes,85 of Hillside Terrace and more recently Elm Wood Center died on September 14, 2009 after a struggle with cancer.  Violet was born on May 2, 1924 in Montpelier, VT to Hiram and Alice Dobey Holmes.  She was reared on the farm homestead of her grandmother Matilda Dobey by whom she was brought up.  In her late teens she was hired by Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Windsor, VT and remained with
them for 35 years first residing in Windsor and then in Claremont, NH.  When she retired, she moved to Hillside Terrace and remained there for 31 years, from the opening of the building, until her illness.  She was the last buildings original tenants.
Violet loved her cars and motored around NH, VT, MA, and NJ, often gathering a car full of friends to travel with her up and down the Valley.  She loved eating out and stopping at yard sales along her journeys.  She also loved horses, the fall of the year because of the
bright colors, playing cards, watching westerns from her collection of videos and DVDs, and the company of her friends.  One of her most cherished belongings were her numerous sets of Lionel Trains.  Her track layouts were spectacular and she invited guests in to enjoy them with her.
Violet is predeceased by her grandmother, her brother Harold, and sisters Helen and Pearl and her lifelong friend and neighbor Annette Hanks.   She is survived by Charles Holmes and his wife Linda of Toms River, NJ.
Funeral services will be held at the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad Street, Claremont on Saturday afternoon, September 19^th at 2 p.m. with Rev. Father Stanley Piwowar officiating.  Internment will follow at St. Mary Cemetery in Claremont.  Contributions in Violet's memory can be made to Connecticut Valley Home Care/Hospice or to a charity of one's choice.