Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes

Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes transitioned peacefully into rest with the Lord Jesus Christ on Monday, June 26, 2023, in her home in Conyers, Georgia with family by her side. Born in Bronx, NY on March 7, 1958, she was raised in Queens, New York by her mother, Vadis C. Jackson, who preceded her in death in 1997. Dr. Holmes was the youngest of two siblings and is survived by her sister, Annette Holmes-Hanley. This trio of mom and daughters were bound by love, and their souls will be forever bonded.

Dr. Holmes was a peaceful soul, intellectually brilliant, grace personified and a woman with many gifts and talents who loved the Lord and all-things artistic. She attended York College of the City University of New York, where she earned her B.A. in English in June of 1980. She later earned both a Master of Fine Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre and Playwriting at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois in 1986. Having earned countless awards throughout her phenomenal career, Dr. Holmes also spent more than three decades as an Associate Professor at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. She taught thousands of students during her stellar career and earned Emeriti status. She has written, directed, and performed solo dramas, plays, and other theatrical forms, which have been staged locally, nationally, and internationally.  She was just as zealous in her life roles of daughter, playwright, sister, poet, sister-cousin, auntie, performer, mentor and nurturing friend. An ordained minister and Deacon, Dr. Holmes was a member of the First African Episcopal Church in Georgia and loved to come home to Christ Pentecostal Temple, Inc. in Jamaica, NY where as a child she was “bred and fed.”  She is a true American treasure who was deeply loved by family and friends. Dr. Holmes’ physical presence will be missed but the precious memories of her will continue to live on in our hearts.

She is survived by her sister, Annette Holmes-Hanley and brother-in-law Calvin R. Hanley (Clayton, DE), nieces Vadisha J. Lewis (Harlem, NY), Taneacia Offutt-Woods (Peachtree City, GA), nephew Marcus Offutt (Peachtree City), grand-nieces, Taniya L. Taylor (Brooklyn, NY), Vadis T. Lewis (Clayton, DE), grand-nephew Caleb M. Lewis (Clayton, DE), and a host of relatives and dear friends.

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