James E. "Butch" Holmes, 79, of Georgetown, Texas peacefully passed away on Saturday, January 29, 2022. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 12th, 2022 at Berry Creek Cemetery, in Georgetown, Texas. Rev. Jim McLendon will be presiding.

Jim , or Butch as he is known to many in Texas, comes from a long line of Texans dating back to the Battle of San Jacinto .  He was born August 29, 1942 to Carlos and Bernice Holmes in Pearsall, Texas . Jim had a wonderful life g rowing up in south Texas, his younger years on the Murchison R anch and then the B ell Ranch. Jim and the B ell boys would scour the countryside for arrowheads , keeping their huge collection in cigar boxes. W hen Jim's parents moved to the Georgetown , Texas area his mother wouldn't let him take those ' old rocks ' along . Jim always regretted not knowing what happened to his a rrowheads.

Jim's teen years were spent in Georgetown with many memories of his motorcycle and his friends meeting at San Gabriel P ark . Jim would tell the story of driving his 1940 Ford coupe between two oak trees that are still standing. His dad at this point was a ranch manager for Mrs . Turner who owned the 4T R anch, part of which is now Sun City . Jim would talk about driving cattle along the roads that now would be alongside Walgreens on Highway 29 and DB Wood R oa d. Jim's dad eventually sent him to school at San Marcos Baptist Academy because Jim insisted on running away and joining the military.

After graduating from S an Marcos Baptist Academy Jim served in the U.S. Army from 1963-1966, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. While in the Army Jim married his first wife, Geraldine Emerson , and started a family. Jim was originally assigned to an artillery unit however o ne day while walking through the base a Colonel offered him a ride. T he Colonel was starting a new military unit and looking for individuals to join the unit as veterinary technicians to care for service dogs. H e asked Jim to join the unit when, after visiting with Jim , he realized that Jim was a ' country boy ' and would fit in to his new program nicely. This unit (936 th Veterinary Detachment) would be come the first one established specifically to care for military service animals in the field . The founding members were 2 officers and 10 enlisted.

After the Army , Jim graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. In his early career, Jim worked at the USDA Soil Conservation Service and Texas Highway Department. Eventually, he started his own surveying firm in Georgetown , Texas and served as Williamson County Surveyor. Jim moved to Colorado in the 1970's, continuing his surveying and purchasing a small ranch. In the early 19 90 ' s , Jim and his future wife Dona moved to E lbert Colora do and began ranching seriously. One day Jim decided that Colorado was becoming too crowded, so he and Dona took their cow/calf operation and purchased a cattle ranch in Lusk , Wyoming. The Circle Valley Ranch was very productive with over 800 acres of irrigation , producing over 3000 ton of hay per year and supporting 300-400 head of mother cows. Jim was fortunate to develop a very lucrative horse hay market on the east coast , selling hay for prized racing horses. In 2016, Jim gave up ranching and moved back to Georgetown. Jim spent his retirement managing his rental properties, restoring classic cars and traveling the country with his wife, Dona.

Jim was an adventurer. He received his pilot's license a t age 16 f rom the Georgetown , Texas airport. When moving to Waco , T exas in the early 1970's, he acquired his first plane , a C hamp , which was refurbished by a high school group there . Jim later sold the Champ and bought a 1953 Cessna 180. Jim also purchased a Blanca Sc out. For a short time, Jim was an Alaska bush pilot, delivering supplies and camping along-side rivers. Later, Jim and his wife Dona bought a 1942 Stinson L5 military observer airplane. Jim and Dona spent years flying across the country , sometimes with groups of friends , to enjoy the world of antique aircraft.

After moving back to Georgetown from Lusk , Jim and Dona traveled the state attending as many classic car shows as they could. Jim loved sharing his cars with family, friends, and anyone that would listen. Jim would stay up late scouring the internet to find the history of his cars. He would get so excited when he could find information on the original owners. Among Jim's favorite cars are a 1940 Oldsmobile Coupe, a 1948 Chevrolet Coupe Deluxe, a 1950 Pontiac Chieftain, a 1953 Chevrolet Bel Aire, a 1954 Ford 4-door Crestline, a 1963 Oldsmobile, a 1966 Chevrolet pickup, a 1972 GMC pickup, a 1978 GMC pickup, and a 1981 Chevrolet Blazer.

Jim loved his blended family dearly.  He is survived by his wife, Dona Amen Holmes ; daughter, Heather Holmes ; step - sons: Michael (Nancy) Weingardt , Martin Weingardt, and Matthew Weingardt; step - daughter, Jo (Todd) W orthington; granddaughters: Samantha (Dan ) Diaz and Dan e e (Dylan) Da more; step - granddaughters: Stefani Worthington and Christine Worthington; step - grandsons: Jac ob (Lauren) Weingardt, Jaxsen Weingardt, and Jonnie Weingardt ; great- granddaughters: Reese Olson and Quinn Olson ; great-grandsons: Remington Damore and Laythen Da more; and step-great - grandson, Tate Weingardt . Jim is preceded in death by his parents Carlos Holmes and Bernice Holmes, an d an infant son Byran "Bubba" Holmes.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project at www.WoundedWarriorProject.org.

You may share a message, memory, or picture in the online memorial guestbook at www.RamseyFuneral.com .