Ruth Holmes

Ruth Holmes, 90, passed away Saturday, July 1, at Blue Mountain Care Center in Prairie City. A memorial service was held Friday, July 7, at the John Day Golf Club. Her ashes will be interred at a later date at the cemetery in Burns.

She was born Dec. 13, 1926, in Mt. Vernon at the Fletcher Ranch to George and Mae Belle Hammons (Fletcher). She grew up and attended school in Mt. Vernon through the 10th grade. She quit school to go to work and help with family finances. The family moved to Burns in 1939.

In 1942, Holmes and sister Diddy traveled by bus to Los Angeles to find jobs. They worked at a restaurant for three months and returned home to Burns due to an illness in the family.

On May 7, 1945, she married Merrill V. Anderson in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

She worked as a cook at cafes in Burns: Palace, Elkhorn and Arrowhead. She also cooked at the Wounded Buffalo in Mt. Vernon. In the early ’70s, she and sister Babs ran the Town Tavern in Stevenson, Washington. In 1977, she opened the Wagon Wheel Café in Mt. Vernon. Around the mid- to late-1990s she and sisters Babs and Diddy ran the Wagon Wheel Tavern in Mt. Vernon.

She is survived by her daughter Phyllis Propeck (Dan) of Mt. Vernon; son Val Anderson of Hines; seven grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by daughters Sheri Lemrick (Jack) and Marilyn Francis (Jerry); brothers Joe David Hammons, Harlan Hammons, Richard Hammons and George (Perk) Hammons; sisters Roberta (Babs) Hammons, Della (Diddy) Steele, Norma Fry and Violet Yarber; and grandson Andy Lemrick.

For those who would like to make a donation in memory of Holmes, the family suggests Home Health & Hospice through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Cremation Services, PO Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences may be shared at tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.