Mary Claire Grantham Holmes, born Dec. 2, 1941, in Memphis, Tenn., passed away peacefully at the age of 80, on May 18, 2022, in Plano, Texas, surrounded by three generations of family members. She was the daughter of Mary Claire Gosey Grantham of Nashville, Tenn., and Matthew Adis Grantham of Memphis, Tenn. She lived her early years in Lake Charles, La., where she met and married the love of her life, Bobby Cole Holmes, who predeceased her after 35 years of marriage in 1998. She was a loving and devoted mother to four sons, David (wife Cheryl), Stephen (wife Shanee), Jason (wife Stacy) and Christopher (wife Lisa), and grandmother to Meghann, Alexandra, Matthew, Sarah, Miles, Charles, Heather, Andrew, Brayden and Allie. She is also survived by her sister, Pamela Grantham Sterling, brother-in-law, Rand Sterling and stepsister, Carole Nichols Valdespino.
Claire had a rich life, traveling the world with her family as Bob’s career with Amoco took them overseas to Athens, Cairo, Tehran, London and The Hague, as well as New Orleans, New York, Chicago and Houston. She embraced and immersed herself in diverse cultures with a fierce curiosity. Her gift was making a home and friends wherever she was in the world, and she lived every day of her life to the fullest. She was passionate about cooking, receiving culinary certifications from Ritz-Escoffier in Paris, La Varenne in Burgundy and De Kievit School of Cookery in the Hague. Gardening and antique and art collecting were among her other interests. She was steadfastly loyal and never hesitated to go out of her way to help her friends and family, which was only matched by her devotion to God. She found a loving church home at St. Andrew United Methodist, Plano, Texas.
After her husband’s passing, Claire lived in Lake Charles, and New Orleans, La., before moving to Plano, Texas, to be closer to her sons. Here she made many friends, and her family is grateful for the companionship and love they showered on her, especially Carole Mangham, Linda Patston and the Encore group, who were dear to her heart. She served two terms as the Encore president. Claire also worked tirelessly to document and preserve her family tree for the generations to come, with an added blessing of discovering a cousin in Hawaii, Carmen Gardner.
She joins in heaven her loving husband Bob, her parents, Mary Claire and Matthew, her brother George Grantham and stepfather, Hawley Ellis “Tubby” Nichols. Claire’s legacy lives on through her family and friends, whose lives were immeasurably richer because she was a part of theirs.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on June 18, at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W Plano Pkwy, Plano, Texas.
Donations can be made to Scottish Rite for Children, pediatric hospital, in Dallas, Texas.