Debbie (Shushereba) Holmes

Class of 1967

Posted on: 6/24/2007 1:11:31 PM

Reading was fundamental to mom, volunteer By Tim Wright TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, June 21, 2005 Debbie Holmes always emphasized the importance of an education, both to her own children and the thousands she aimed to inspire through her children's stories, her family said. As a homemaker and school volunteer, she spent hours reading to her favorite audience: children. Before she became ill, Mrs. Holmes had crafted several children's stories that she was shopping to publishers. Deborah L. Holmes, of Monroeville, died Sunday, June 19, 2005, at her home after a long battle with small-cell lung cancer. She was 55. "She was a very compassionate and caring person who always took care of other people. That's what she was known for," said her eldest daughter, Shannon Guenzel, of North Huntingdon. "Everybody always said that she was the nicest person that they had ever met, and it's not too often that you go your whole life without anyone disliking you." Mrs. Holmes was born Oct. 29, 1949, in Wilkinsburg. She was the daughter of the late George and Wanda Shushereba. Shortly after graduating from Gateway High School in Monroeville, she worked at several jobs in the Monroeville area in the secretarial and bookkeeping fields. On Sept. 4, 1968, she married Robert Q. Holmes, whom she had met in high school. The couple had two daughters, Shannon and Autumn. Guenzel and her husband, Chris, are trying to get her four completed stories published. "She definitely stressed how important education was, and she always encouraged me to teach and volunteer and help others as well along the way," Guenzel said. Mrs. Holmes is survived by her husband, Robert; daughters Shannon Guenzel and her husband, Chris, of North Huntingdon, and Autumn Lauritzen and her husband, Daniel, of Irwin; sisters Jorja Seidl, of Supply, N.C., Michele Parente, of Monroeville, and Tracy Neiderhiser, of Bluffton, S.C.; and two grandchildren.
Contact: Log in to see contact info