thumb

Linn County News

Published Feb. 17, 2021

Floyd Arthur Holmes (or Arthur Floyd Holmes, it was never clear which) passed away peacefully at his residence at Grandwood Assisted Living in Grove, Okla., on Feb. 13, 2021, exactly one month after celebrating his 105th birthday. Floyd to family, and “F.A.” or simply “Holmes” to his friends, was born on the family farm near Prescott, Kan., the third child of Arthur and Florence Holmes. 

He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Carroll; and his two older siblings, Hazel Grigsby and John Holmes, and two younger siblings, Ned Holmes and Mildred Holmes, who died in childhood. He is survived by his youngest sister Florine O’Rourke of Lawrence, Kan.; six nephews; two nieces; and many grand-nieces and nephews and their descendants. 

Floyd was remarkable in many ways, not least by his energy, sense of humor and amazing memory. Well past his centennial year he could still name all the U.S. state capitols, all the counties in Kansas, California, Washington, Oregon, Utah and most in Oklahoma, the names of almost all the members of the sports teams he competed against as a student athlete in rural Kansas, and the names of all the members of the minor league baseball teams he followed during his career in Utah, Washington, Ohio, Indiana and California. As though to emphasize his remarkable mental acuity, he spontaneously recited, verbatim, the poem “When the Last Picture of the Earth Is Painted” by Rudyard Kipling for the assembled friends and family at his 102nd birthday celebration. He noted to all that he learned the poem when he heard it read at a graduation in 1931. It was not the only poem he still remembered and could recite when the mood struck. He used to be fond of saying that he spent the first 30 years of his life getting an education, the next 30 working for someone else, and the last 30 playing golf and enjoying himself. Even he did not foresee his longevity, although several family members lived past 100.

 After attending a one-room grade school and graduating at 16 from high school in Prescott (Class of ‘32), Floyd worked at farming and tried his hand at the wheat harvest in western Kansas, but his innate curiosity soon led him to attend Fort Scott Community College and then Kansas State University, where he obtained Bachelor and Master’s degrees in entomology. He was proud of the fact that on a class field trip while at K-State he discovered the largest known fossil of a dragon fly. Half of the fossil resides in the collections at K-State and the other half at Harvard’s Museum of Natural History. In 2016 he was honored by K-State for his still legendary discovery. He was a proud KSU Wildcat and endowed a scholarship in entomology at K-State for a graduate student working on economic entomology issues that would benefit agriculture. 

It was while he was a student at K-State that he met the love of his life, fellow student Carroll Buck. After serving a year in the army during WWII, Floyd returned home on leave and he and Carroll were married in Garnett, Kan., in 1943. He quickly returned to duty and spent most of the rest of his wartime service in the Pacific theatre with the army medical corps.

After discharge from the army following the war, Floyd secured a position with DuPont chemical company as a pesticide specialist. In many ways a dream job, it kept him outside, working with people, and on the move.  He and Carroll had posts in Yakima, Wash., Brigham City, Utah, Oberlin, Ohio, South Bend, Ind., and finally and longest, in Los Gatos, Calif.  Active, well-known and a leader in his professional role in California, he and Carroll were equally well-known at many of the leading golf courses in California. He was particularly pleased at their recognition for each of them having made a hole-in-one on the same hole at the same course in the same year. And it was not the only hole-in-one for either of them.

Following his retirement from DuPont, he and Carroll elected to relocate closer to family. They built their retirement home in Buffalo Shores on Grand Lake near Grove, Okla., so, as Floyd said, they could golf and fish at their leisure. They stayed in Buffalo Shores until Carroll’s death in 1998. At that time, Floyd moved into Grove. Despite the loss of Carroll, Floyd’s enjoyment of travel did not diminish, and for a number of years his traveling companion was his sister-in-law, Eileen Funk, who had lost her husband some years before.

In 2015 Floyd moved to Grandwood Assisted Living in Grove. In 2017 he was very pleased and honored to serve as Grand Marshall of the Grove Christmas Parade, and this year Grove’s mayor declared his 105th birthday Floyd A. Holmes Day.0 A fitting tribute to the acknowledged “Oldest Man in Oklahoma.”

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt and sincere appreciation for the extended care provided to Floyd by the remarkable staff of Grandwood Assisted Living and by Hospice Compassus during his final days. A family memorial service is planned for the future at the Holmes Cemetery in Linn County, Kan.  

OBITUARIES

Kelly Renee Moore ~ 08-02-1963 to 10-13-2025

thumb

Linn County News Published October 22, 2025   Kelly Renee Moore, age 62 Paola, Kan., passed away at her home on Oct. 13, 2025.  She was born the daughter of Ernest DeWayne and Neva Stillwagon O’Dell on Aug. 2, 1963, in La Mesa, Calif. Kelly loved... [More]

Norma Jeanne (Riley) Long ~ 08-21-1938 to 10-13-2025

thumb

Linn County News Published October 22, 2025   Norma Jeanne (Riley) Long, age 87, of La Cygne, Kan., passed away Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, at Vintage Park in Osawatomie, Kan., surrounded by family. Norma was born on Aug. 21, 1938, in Liberal, Kan., to Frederick and... [More]

Geneva Darlene Jennings ~ 11-15-1939 to 10-12-2025

thumb

Linn County News Published October 15, 2025 Geneva Darlene Jennings, age 85, Pleasanton, Kan., passed away Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. She was born on Nov. 15, 1939, at Trading Post, Kan., the daughter of Charles and Daisy Rittinghouse Purdy. She graduated from Pleasanton High... [More]

More Obituaries

View All Obituaries

NEWS

Former Zoning Administrator explains KORA requests

thumb

During the weekly meeting on Monday, Oct. 20, the Linn County Commissioners heard from former county employee Darin Wilson who served previously as the Planning and Zoning Administrator. Wilson told commissioners that the KORA (Kansas Open Records Act) requests he had made were... [More]

Pleasanton Council overrides mayor veto on firefighter appointments

thumb

The Pleasanton Council met at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday and Councilman Aaron Portmann immediately read a prepared statement concerning Ordinance 2065 that Mayor Mathew Young vetoed that tried to take appointment of firefighters from the mayor and put it on the... [More]

Snyder appointed Linn County Register of Deeds

thumb

Following the retirement of long-time Linn County Register of Deeds Kristy Schmitz, the Linn County Republican Central Committee held a convention Sunday to appoint a new Register of Deeds. Central Committee Chair Becky Johnson held the role call of committee people and 20... [More]

More News

SPORTS

Prairie View football stays on top of their district with big win over Girard

thumb

The Prairie View Buffalos are in 3A District 2 and currently hold the number one seed in that district. The Buffalos 49-20 win over Girard gave them a great chance to be District champions. This week the Buffalos travel to Iola for their final district game and will seal the... [More]

Prairie View volleyball finishes season at Girard

thumb

The Prairie View volleyball team finished their regular season games at Iola this past week as they had a Pioneer League triangular against Iola and Osawatomie. They were in the 3A Regional quad at Girard on Oct. 20 and finished their season there going 1-2. To see the full... [More]

Jays lock in league runner up spot at Uniontown

thumb

Just as the week before, Pleasanton turned first-half takeaways into touchdowns and won at Uniontown last Friday night, 45-12, in a Three Rivers League and Class 1-A, District 1 matchup. The win assures the Blu-Jays of at least their third consecutive second-place finish in... [More]

More Sports

PLEASANTON WEATHER

OBITUARIES POLICY

• May be mailed, e-mailed, faxed or hand delivered.
• Must be received by 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning in order to appear in that week's edition.
• Obituaries submitted by funeral homes will be billed to the funeral home.
• Full obituaries submitted by individuals are required to be paid in advance.
• Cost: $40 for 300 words or less. Each additional word over 300, 10¢. Photograph $5.
Call Barbara at 913-352-6235 or e-mail linncountynewsreporter@gmail.com

View Legals for Free