AUGUSTA – Robert J. Holmes Sr., 92, of Augusta passed away Wednesday, March 1, at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.

He was born Oct. 6, 1914, in Newark, N.J., the son of Joseph W. Holmes and Bertha Mae (Mosher) Holmes.

He attended Genessee Wesleyan Preparatory School in Lima, N.Y., and high school at Belmont High School at Belmont, Mass., where he was the center on the football team. He then attended Northeastern University in Boston and Columbia University in New York City. He later took classes at the University of Maine at Augusta.

Robert started in the shoe last business with the United Shoe Machinery Corp. During the war, he worked on a joint venture project between United Shoe and the U.S. military for hydraulic operation of machine gun turrets in American fighter planes. He later started his own business, manufacturing shoe lasts under the name of Auburn Last Co. Inc., located in Lewiston.

He served in the Massachusetts Guard, Headquarters and Services Troop in Boston. His love for flying took him into service in the U.S.A.F. Civil Air Patrol as a flight officer in Auburn. He belonged to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association as a private pilot.

Robert was a member of the Tranquil Lodge in Belmont, Mass., and Auburn, Maine. He was also a member of Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks, Kiwanis International and an active member of the Toastmaster’s Club in Auburn. In his later years he became a member of the Maine Association of Realtors while doing appraisals for Century 21 Venture Ltd.

He volunteered in several organizations, including Meals On Wheels and America Contract Bridge Group, and was a former vice chairman of the Local Advisory Committee at the Senior Spectrum’s William S. Cohen Community Center.

As a former deacon of the South Parish Congregational Church, he devoted many hours to the church’s programs.

Robert was an ardent skier. He became a professional ski instructor in his retirement, teaching at Sunday River, Sugarloaf-USA and Lost Valley Ski Area. Robert regretfully stopped skiing and snowboarding with his three pals from Augusta at Sugarloaf after a knee replacement at 84 years of age.

From Jan. 20, 1945, to Jan. 2, 2000, he was married to Doris Ruth (Muller) Holmes, who passed away. They had two sons, Bruce McLeod and Robert Joseph Jr.

After many years living in Auburn, the couple moved to the Augusta area where they again became involved in the business community as owners of the Fairway Motor Lodge in Manchester and were members of the Augusta Country Club.

In Oct. 2000, he married Elene Verhille, and the couple enjoyed an active involvement with the Cohen Center, bridge club and the South Parish Church.

His lifelong passion was music. Robert played the bass fiddle in the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, playing in clubs in the Boston area and having his 15 minutes of fame playing a set with Count Basie’s band in New York City. He achieved his professional music goal by playing with the Swingtime Band of Augusta, where he played the electric bass guitar and was known as “Bobby,” crooner of old-time songs.

Surviving are his wife, Elene Holmes; sons, Bruce and his wife, Pia Holmes, of Manchester, and Robert Jr. and his wife, Virginia Holmes, of Winter Springs, Fla.; his grandchildren, Heather Holmes Rhoads and her husband, Robert Rhoads, of Charleston, S.C., Paige Holmes and her husband, James Pineau. and their newborn son, Mason James in Lisbon, Eric J. Holmes of Indianapolis, Ind., and Temple Holmes O’Connor and her husband, Ryan, of Oviedo, Fla.; David J. Holmes and his wife, Jane, of Plymouth, and their two sons, John and David Jr., and daughters, Rhonda and Deanne; his sisters, Dr. Winnifred Holmes Griffin of Farmingdale, and Dorethea Eaton of Monrovia, Calif.; and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Theodore (Floy) Holmes, of Surprise, Ariz.