HOLMES, Gwendoline Joyce

July 6, 1930 – July 16, 2022

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is even if we are apart, I’ll always be with you.”  - A. A. Milne

Gwendoline Joyce Patterson: born July 6, 1930 in Gaspe to Richard and Ethel Patterson. She grew up in Wakeham outside of Gaspe where she met Ralph Holmes who was working as a forester in the area. Gwen married Ralph on September 25, 1950 at Cap aux Os, Quebec. True to their love of nature and the wilderness they stayed in a fire lookout tower and hunted deer on their honeymoon. Gwen and Ralph lived throughout Canada over the years from Newfoundland to British Columbia. She spent her final years in Williams Lake, British Columbia shortly after Ralph died in 2005 to be close to her children Elaine and Richard. Gwen was a natural mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to the family through her love of cooking and baking that won her numerous county fair ribbons and encouraging us all to chase our dreams and know that we could reach them. She was an incredible knitter, and her sweaters are still hanging in homes by family members to this day. She was an avid curler in her younger years, watched it passionately on television in her later years, and she was an active carpet bowler as a senior.

Gwen was compassionate and empathetic to others, and she loved to volunteer in the communities that she lived in, and she kept this up until she reached 90 years old when failing health limited her ability to do so. Gwen was charming company, but she also loved quiet moments for reading, reflection, watching television, and in her later years she learned how to use a computer and she searched information out on the Internet. She loved animals especially cats and dogs and she was always concerned for their welfare.

Gwen is survived by brother Wesley Patterson, sister-in-law Judy Patterson, children Laurene (Winter), Richard (Holmes), Elaine (Balul), and Barbara (Holmes), grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In memory of Gwen please consider donations to the SPCA, Heart and Stroke Foundation (both identified in her will), and the Robertson/Holmes Memorial Scholarship / Bursary Fund in New Richmond, Quebec.