Greg Holmes

Greg Holmes of Sissonville died on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at the age of 58. A lifelong resident of Sissonville, Greg was born on March 23, 1963 to Darrell and Nell Jean Holmes. He was a graduate of Sissonville High School and later attended Marshall University. He lived life by his own rules, blazed his own trail, and hardly ever learned from his mistakes. Despite that—or maybe because of it—he was an amazing teacher. Greg taught his three kids, nieces, and nephews to hunt and fish, shoot guns, love the outdoors, and build a damn good fire. He also taught his kids how to drive; albeit maybe a little too early, considering they were 8, sitting on his lap, steering the Blazer through mud ditches at the family farm. Wherever Greg went, a good time wasn’t far behind. Always the life of the party, you were sure to find him captivating an audience with one of his stories. He loved telling stories and people loved hearing them, even if he was known to stretch the truth a bit every now and then. Greg never met a stranger and could talk to anyone. His charm, magnetic personality, and irreverent sense of humor made it hard not to like him. He was never one to care much about what other people thought and he’d do just about anything to get a laugh. Greg always had a mildly inappropriate joke or comment up his sleeve coupled with an ornery smile that was quick to light up his face. Greg was good at nearly everything he set his mind to. He was intelligent, could build anything, and fix whatever was broken. He was an excellent cook and a fantastic artist. For years, Greg worked as an operator at Carbide where he was also a firefighter and EMT. Though he stopped working at the plant in the mid-2000s, he is still remembered by men there for his hard work, wit, and knowledge. He fiercely loved his family, the outdoors, his mustache, and music. There was no place he’d rather be than bangin’ strings with his buddies. One of the things he was most proud of was being part of a band, Gravel in the Grass. Greg coined the band name after hearing their unique sound, or in his words “kinda like when you run over gravel with the lawnmower.” He will be deeply missed and his spirit carried on by his children, Tara Holmes, Adam Holmes (Sarah), and Austin Holmes (Amelia); brothers Eric Holmes (Heather) and David Holmes (Kim); nieces, Lindsay Holmes and Brianna Holmes; nephews, Andrew Holmes and Easton Holmes; his guitar, Rosie; and his countless other friends and relations from every walk of life. Greg will be reunited with his loving parents, Darrell and Nell Jean Holmes. While they will be very happy to see him, there’s a slight chance that they might try to send him back. A “Celebration of Life” will be held at The Olive Tree in South Charleston from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 22.