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Promoted to Glory
BRIGADIER LESTER HOLMES, 94, was promoted to Glory on December 15 from the Hacienda Healthcare in Hanford, Calif.
Born August 31, 1908 in Petaluma, Calif., Lester came from a Methodist background but met The Salvation Army as a teenager. He became a soldier in 1924.
Before entering the Training College in San Francisco, he served as a corps assistant in several corps in the Northern California and Nevada Division. He entered training from the Modesto Corps and was commissioned as a probationary captain in 1931 with The Climbers Session.
In 1931, Lester married Captain Dortha Stephens. They served in numerous corps, divisional and territorial appointments. Corps assignments included Richmond, Chico, Taft, Grass Valley, Vallejo, Hanford, Lancaster, Kingsburg and Traver, Calif.; Hobbs, New Mexico; and Petersburg, Alaska. They served at the Northern California and Nevada and the Alaska DHQs, and at THQ, where Lester was in the public relations department.
After over 40 years of faithful service, the Holmes retired in 1972. Lester soldiered on in Hanford in fundraising and other areas. His wife, Dortha, and son, Dale, preceded him in death. In 1980 Lester married a soldier of the Hanford corps, Pearl Briggs, who also preceded him in death.
Brigadier Holmes is survived by one son, Paul and his wife; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; one brother, Everett; one sister, Alta Mae Peterson; and several nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.
Brigadier Holmes’ nephew, Major Lawrence Holmes, assisted by his wife, Major Thelma Holmes, officiated at the funeral service at the Hanford Corps. The committal was at Cypress Lawn, Colma, Calif., with Captain Chris Yeager, corps officer of the South San Francisco Corps, officiating.
Condolences may be sent to Major Lawrence Holmes, 4440 Charter Point Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32277.
MAJOR GEORGE BAKER, SR., was promoted to Glory on December 27 from his home in Sun City, Arizona.
The son of officer parents, George was born March 20, 1926, in West Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1945 he was commissioned with the Fearless Session from the Training College in Chicago. While single, he held appointments in Missouri before his marriage in 1948 to Dorothy, also a Salvation Army officer.
Together the Bakers served as corps officers in Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Kansas. In 1966 they headed west and held appointments in Phoenix, Riverside, Long Beach, Oakland and Santa Barbara. They managed the San Francisco Evangeline Residence and the Los Angeles Silvercrest Senior Residence, and retired in 1988 when George was the general secretary of the ARC Command.
In retirement George was active in the Sun Cities Area Corps, where he and Dorothy soldiered since moving to Arizona in 1993.
Major Baker leaves behind his wife, Dorothy; daughter and son-in-law, Sherry and John Stava; daughter and son-in-law, Majors Linda and Glen Madsen; son and daughter-in-law, Majors George and Jeanne Baker; grandchildren Kirsten and Kjell Stava, Matt and Tiffany Madsen, Michelle, Melissa, Jeremy, and Jonathon Baker; sister, Lt. Colonel Gladys Bodine and brother, David W. Baker.
A memorial service was held at the Glendale Corps, Ariz., with Major Baker’s nephew, Major Don Hostetler, divisional commander of the Southern New England Division officiating, assisted by Sun City Corps Officer, Major Juvencio Utrera. Interment was at the Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City, with Major George L. Baker, Jr. officiating.
Messages may be sent to Major Dorothy Baker at 13055 N. 99th Drive, Sun City, AZ 85351; Mrs. Sherry Stava, 186 S. Lindero, Lindsay, CA 93247; Major Linda Madsen, 3254 Calavo Drive, Spring Valley, CA 91978; and Major George Baker, 3250 Sara Drive, Torrance, CA 90503.
