Patricia Ann Holmes (Shimbersky)

Patricia Ann Holmes, 79, passed away at Dove Heathcare nursing home in Bloomer on Saturday night, April 2, 2016, with her six children close by her side.
Leo and Loretta (Yanke) Shimbersky welcomed Patricia into the world on October 3, 1936, in Eau Claire. Patricia attended elementary school at Sacred Heart School before she enrolled at Eau Claire Senior High, where she was graduated in the spring of 1954.
Patricia married Dan Francis Holmes of Eau Claire on June 20, 1955. Dan worked as a meat cutter in various communities (Bloomer, Bruce, Cornell and Thorp) during the 1960s and early 70s while Patricia ran the household and reared what eventually grew to be a family of six children. Patricia’s list of responsibilities increased dramatically in the winter of 1974 when Dan died suddenly at the age of 40.
Patricia worked full-time for ITT Life Insurance in Thorp for several years before being hired as a secretary at Thorp High School. She later worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at the former Wissota Lakeside nursing home in Chippewa Falls, a position she retired from in the early 2000s.
Patricia moved from Chippewa Falls to Bloomer in the mid-1990s and resided in an apartment complex for the elderly until she entered hospice last month at Dove Healthcare.
No matter her workload, Patricia always made time for her children and her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She never wavered despite the challenges she faced as a widow with five children still at home when Dan died. “To make a long story short,” she was always there when needed.
Patricia loved to knit and crochet a wide variety of items for those she loved. She also liked to tend to her flowers, both indoors and out, and spend time with her dogs, the late Pepe and the now relocated Buster. Patricia also enjoyed a brandy old fashion or two, some dinner and some laughs with her family and friends.
Patricia is survived by her children: Diane (Jim) Williams, Kathryn (William) Elling, Dan (Susan) Holmes (Buster’s new parents), Kirk (Barbara) Holmes, Theresa (Tom) Mertens and Kris (Dean) Anderson; grandchildren Jason (Trish), James and Adam (Emily) Williams and Heather Noeldner; Sam Elling; Kenarae (Scott) Luzinski, Kayla Faughn, Daniel (Mary) Mertens and Darren Mertens; Brittany (David) Heagle, Joseph Anderson and Erin Anderson; step-grandchild Sara (Patrick) Vande Voort; and 14 great grandchildren.
Patricia was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and one great grandchild.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, April 8, 2016 at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bloomer at 1:00 PM. There will be a wake from 4:00-8:00 PM at the Olson Funeral Home in Bloomer on Thursday April 7, 2016 with a Christian Wake Service at 7:30 PM. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Eau Claire