Lyle Holmes, 94, a former ceramic engineer who retired to Tryon in 1986, passed away Dec. 8, 2015 at Hospice of the Carolina Foothills in Landrum.

He was born Jan. 18, 1921 to Swedish immigrants Violet and Clarence Holmes, and was the oldest of five children. He spent his early years growing up on a wheat farm in Keeler, Saskatchewan, though the family later moved to Saskatoon during the Great Depression. A lifelong pianist, he won a Canadian Junior National piano contest as a young teenager. Holmes graduated with a degree in ceramic engineering from the University of Saskatchewan in 1941 and was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Engineers later that year.

During World War II, Holmes was stationed in London and met Cecily Hutton while going door-to-door as part of his military duties. Both were instantly smitten and married in East Horsley, England in 1943 before moving to Vancouver. Holmes attained the rank of captain before he was discharged from the RCE in 1945.

He was a ceramic engineer and businessman for his entire career, including a stint as president of the American Ceramic Society. He lived and worked in Pittsburgh from the late 1940s to 1966, and later worked for the International Mineral Corporation in Chicago and Boston. He retired in Tryon, where he was active in the local community. Holmes was formerly on the board of Tryon Hounds and Hospice of the Carolina Foothills.

He and his wife raised three children and were extensive travelers, visiting most of Europe as well as Turkey, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and India. The two were married for 68 years, until Cecily’s death in 2011.

Holmes was also an avid tennis player, watercolor painter, photographer, amateur astronomer and hockey fan.

He is survived by a sister, Erie Vockeroth, sons Lyle Anthony (Faye) and Christopher (Jonnalee), a daughter, Jill (Mickey) Peck, 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2016 in the Memorial Garden of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Tryon.

– Submitted by Gillian Peck