Dorothy Ann Holmes

Dorothy Ann Predeek Holmes, 97, of Canby, Oregon, was called home to God peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of September 5, 2026. Dorothy, better known as “Dot,” was born at home on a small farm near Abiqua Creek, just outside of Mt. Angel, Oregon, the seventh of 10 children born to William and Elizabeth Predeek.

Growing up in Mt. Angel, Dorothy attended St. Mary’s Elementary and later attended the all-girls high school at the Benedictine Convent. This experience served as a foundation for her steadfast faith throughout her life. The Predeek family endured a number of tragedies, and through those hardships, Dorothy developed a resilience that would characterize her throughout her life. Small in stature, Dot nevertheless became a steady source of strength for those who knew her.

After graduating from high school, she moved to Salem and found a job doing accounting work. In the summer of 1949, she attended a dance in Mt. Angel, where she met a young man named Cliff Holmes. She liked to mention that he was one of a few suitors she had at the time, but when Cliff returned to Washington State that fall, he continued writing to Dorothy, and his romantic letters eventually won her over. They were married soon after and moved to Battle Ground, Washington, to begin their life together.

By age 25, Dot and Cliff had five children, ranging in age from four and a half years old to infant twins. In the years that followed, their family continued to grow, eventually reaching 10 children, the same number as Dot’s own family. As the family chicken plant operation grew, Dot and Cliff moved their family from Milwaukie, Oregon, to Canby, where they built a home on Bremer Road. While raising her children, Dot worked in the family chicken plant, learning and proficiently performing nearly every job. With her remaining energy, she planted, cultivated, and maintained a large garden filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables to ensure her family never went hungry.

Many times in her life, Dot relied on her Catholic faith to carry her through, just as others relied on her. After the poultry plant closed, Cliff was injured in an accident that left him unable to work for a time. During that period, Dot put her skill with a rolling pin to work and began baking to help provide for their family. Word of Dot’s baked goods spread, and demand grew for her pies, cinnamon rolls, and caramel bars, eventually leading to a full-fledged commercial bakery.

For all the work that filled her days, Dot always found ways to make holidays special for her family. Christmas mornings at her home were marked by the smell of cinnamon rolls or a tea ring baking in the kitchen, a tradition she continued even after largely losing her sight, making them from memory. As her children grew and the family expanded, getting everyone together at the same time became nearly impossible, but Grandma’s house remained a place where family stopped by throughout Christmas Day to share a cinnamon roll, say Merry Christmas, and spend time together. Her family could also mark the changing seasons by Dot’s annual spring and fall cleaning.

Through life’s challenges, Dorothy never lost her spirit, her grit, or her optimistic belief that she was blessed and that things would be all right. Even at age 97, others recognized the strength she possessed, and when it was mentioned, she would laugh and say, “I call it stubbornness.”

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, William and Elizabeth Predeek; her husband, Clifford Leroy Holmes; her son, David William Holmes; and her siblings, Clarence Predeek, Verna Scharbach, Wilbert Predeek, Mildred Miller, Paul Predeek, Marie Predeek, an infant sister, Raymond “Fr. Christopher” Predeek, and Donna Predeek Annen.

Dorothy is survived by her nine children, Jeanne Holmes Smith, Carol Holmes Smith, Tom Holmes and his wife, Kathi Holmes, Don Holmes and his wife, Joyce, Joanne Holmes Wallis and her husband, Kimball, Sharon Holmes Arends and her husband, Phillip, Mike Holmes and his wife, Julie Beck, Janice Holmes Dollarhide, and Kathy Holmes Mayfield and her husband, Wynn. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Andrea Hoppman, widow of her son David, as well as 33 grandchildren, 61 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 2, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Canby, Oregon. A luncheon will follow in the parish hall, and all are welcome. Interment will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, October 5, at the cemetery in Mt. Angel, Oregon.