Marilyn Ann Holmes

Marilyn Ann Grubaugh was born to John Millard Grubaugh and Josephine Louise Meeting in 1938 in Mansfield, Ohio. She was their 5th child and 1st girl of their ten children. She was raised a Catholic and attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfield. In 1951, the family came upon hard times and the Catholic church stepped in to help out the children. The three youngest children were adopted by an older couple in Toledo, OH. Marilyn was sent to several foster homes, finally ending up as the foster daughter and James and Virginia Hoffman. It was a dramatic and fortunate event for Marilyn. She was able to graduate from The Ohio State University and did additional studies at McGill University in Montreal and at the Sorbonne in Paris. After graduation, she became of teacher of Spanish and English at Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati. In 1963 she met Dick Holmes. They were living in the same apartment building and they met in the laundry room – a fitting location since Dick was working for Procter & Gamble They were married on 4 Apr 1964 in Mansfield, OH and their wedding gift from the Hoffmans was full support for Dick for two years in order to obtain an MBA degree from Stanford University. While at Stanford, Marilyn worked as a librarian in the Philosophy department. Their first child, Mike, was born at the Stanford University Medical Center. Following school, the family moved to Deerfield, IL where Dick joined Baxter Healthcare. Their second child, Bill, was born in Highland Park. The family moved to Maryland in 1970 where Dick became Vice President of a Baxter division there. While in the D.C. area, their third and final son, Chris, was born. In 1978, Dick was appointed President of Baxter Canada and they lived 5 years in Mississauga, Ontario, where the learned the sport of curling. In 1983, they moved back to the Chicago area and they have lived in the same house in Lake Bluff since that time. One of the hallmarks of Marilyn’s life was her involvement with the Camerata Singers. The Camerata Singers were a group of 16 singers who performed concerts in beautiful large homes in the Lake Forest area on Sunday afternoons. There were usually two performances on that Sunday and the singers and concert goers would mingle during the hour between concerts for an intimate reception. Marilyn was not a singer, but she had a remarkable drive and managed to find almost all the concert sites, recruit all of the board members and manage every fund-raiser. She had an amazing smile and was loved by almost everyone she met. Marilyn was President or Vice President for a total of 25 years. Marilyn especially loved gardening, gourmet cooking, reading, and, above all, her family. She was called “Marnie” by her grandchildren. This final year has been a tough one for her as she suffered a hip fracture, a mini-stroke, and finally a pelvis fracture. Through it all, she kept her spirits high and she died on February 17, peacefully in her own bed as she wanted. She is survived by her husband, Dick, her three sons, Mike, Bill and Chris; five grandchildren; her birth brother, Bill Grubaugh of Mansfield, OH, and her foster sister, Virginia “Ginger” Long, also of Mansfield. She was predeceased by her birth parents, her foster parents, 8 birth siblings and 2 foster siblings. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest in the near future.

Marilyn Ann Holmes

June 4, 1938 - February 17, 2026