Born February 7, 1943 and passed away Sunday, April 11, 2021. Beloved husband of Joan Holmes; dear father of Tom (Megan) Holmes and Erin (Jon) Ramirez; dear grandfather of 5; dear brother of Steve (Kris) Holmes.
Mr. Holmes attended Immaculate Heart of Mary, CBC, S.E. MO State Univ. (BA//MA); he taught in Webster Groves School District (1967-2003), began and coached Webster Groves High School Soccer Program (1967 – 2003), was inducted into The Soccer Hall of Fame (2003) and inducted into The Webster Groves Sports Hall of Fame (2004). He played for the St. Louis Bomber Rugby Club and was named to the All Century Team. Tom coached for a number of youth soccer programs. He took the 1982 Busch S.C. Girls Team and the 1980 Busch S.C. Boys Team to 2 Snickers National Championship Tournament. He played soccer for The Kutis Over 50 Team in the Veterans Cup.
Services: Memorial visitation at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois, Sunday, April 18, 2-8 p.m. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at Ste. Genevieve DuBois Catholic Church, Monday, 10 a.m. Contributions to Gateway City F.C.//Tom Holmes <[cw4][cs35]><[ml(GHORSE.jpg)]><[cw39][cs0]>Memorial Scholarship Fund c//o Paul Zarky (zarkmania@hotmail.com) or S.P.E.N.S.A. – Special Needs Soccer Association (spensa.org) appreciated
Tom, you were a great friend and I have many years of memories playing with you as a teammate and coaching with you. You will be deeply missed. Condolences to your family and friends. May you rest in peace and someday we will be together again as teammates.
So sorry to hear this news. I played Varsity Soccer for Coach Holmes and he also encouraged me to join the St. Louis Bombers Rugby Club which enabled me to move on to play at KU and later the Dallas Harlequins.
I enjoyed his leadership and dry humor. RIP Coach
Coach Holmes was a great man and he contributed greatly to the man I am today. His time, his commitment to us….wasn’t fully appreciated until much later. In fact, many of his lessons didn’t fully resonate until we had accrued enough life experience. I was a member of the flagship Statesmen SC club team that Tiger started in 1982. He took a group of decent athletes that had never really played soccer and coached the hell out of us. We scored exactly one goal in our first season of SLYSA; by the time we were seniors, coach had turned us into conference champions. In between, on Tiger’s watch, at Dooley Field, with his raspy screams as soundtrack, the best and most enduring friendships of our lives were formed. Across the years, whenever we get together, Coach is our favorite muse. The last time I saw him was at his surprise retirement party at the Soccerdome in 2003. Dozens of former players from across the years showed up. And you know what? Screaming Tom, the tormentor of myopic and inept referees, Mr. “IMMEDIATE CHASE” sobbed pretty much through the entire party.
Coach was a great man.
His legacy lives on.
Monumentally influential for many. Strong collected passionate determined fair. Great coach. Better mentor. WG soccer has blossomed due to his efforts.
76-80 Varsity team
I was a counselor at Webster Groves High School. I remember Tom being friendly and kind to both students and staff. His presence was an asset to the school.
Among my fondest memories of my youth in Webster were of Coach Holmes. He was so dedicated to those he coached, and was a true friend. He taught me so much. I consider myself very blessed to have played for and known Tom.