A man of many interests

Ira Holmes [Photo courtesy College of Central Florida]

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Posted June 19, 2024 | By Susan Smiley-Height, susan@magnoliamediaco.com

When the conductor on the Heavenly Express passenger train called out “All aboard” on June 9, rail transportation aficionado Ira Holmes embarked on a new journey.

Holmes, 90, who passed away on June 9, loved trains and passenger train travel. He was well known locally for his years of work with historic preservation, including serving on the Ocala Historic Preservation Advisory Board since its founding in 1984. He was a pillar at the College of Central Florida, where for six decades he was a professor of humanities and social sciences, was the founder of the CF Ira Holmes International Film Series and led more than two dozen study tours to Europe.

“The loss of Ira Holmes is deeply felt across our college community. Over his many years of service to the college, from professor to division dean, he helped shape CF into what it is today. CF’s very first study abroad course was established by Ira, and many CF students and employees had the privilege of participating in study tours he led all over the world. The namesake of the CF Ira Holmes International Film Series, he served as the series director for more than 30 years,” noted James Henningsen, president of the college.

“Ira’s passion for the arts was contagious—you couldn’t help but get excited whenever he would share an anecdote about his time touring Europe or discuss potential films for the next year of the International Film Series. His enthusiasm ignited a love for learning in countless individuals, and his legacy will continue to do so for many years to come,” Henningsen added.

Local businesswoman, photographer and author Cynthia Wilson Graham was a student of Holmes at CF.

“Professor Holmes—what a generational professional educator, for me, my daughter and others who attended the College of Central Florida, formerly Central Florida Community College. He embraced the diversity of his traditional and nontraditional students as well as the indirect and direct students that he taught inside and outside of the classroom,” Graham said.

Graham, who co-authored “Remembering Paradise Park: Tourism and Segregation at Silver Springs,” said that when she was conducting research, “Ira was a go-to person. He and David Cook.”

EARLY HISTORY

Holmes and his wife Sally Hall Holmes had two children Kevin Holmes and Amanda Concha-Holmes. She shared some family history, including that her father was born on May 26, 1934, in New York City.

“He and his twin brother Burton Holmes were raised as small children in Valley Stream, New York, by his parents Sylvia and Harry Holmes. His dad was in both WWI and WWII, and his mom brought him to the library every week and inspired him to love learning through reading. They moved to DeLand, Florida, when their parents bought the Liu Gim Gong Citrus Grove. They went to high school in DeLand and college at Stetson University,” she wrote.

She said her father continued his education at Florida State University and the University of Florida “for graduate school in history, studying specifically short-wave communication. He loved short-wave radios and being able to hear people from all around the world and their culturally distinct perspectives.”

She shared that he had stopped at what was then Central Florida Community College, now CF, “on his way from Daytona going back to Gainesville and was offered a position. He accepted it and has been teaching for the last 61 years. He was passionate about learning (through books, museums, travel, art, and movies) to be able to teach students in the CF classroom.”

“He loves trains, travel and inspiring people to be the best they can be by reflecting on the humanities and the meaning of life. He taught generations of families in Ocala and would always have students come up to him to rave about how great of a professor he was, and often how he changed their lifepaths in such meaningful ways,” Concha-Holmes continued.

 

FRIENDS WHO “JUST CLICKED”

Ocala attorney Jim Richard said Holmes was integral in creating the historic districts in the city.

“We met 40-some years ago. We were among the first members of the Ocala Historic Preservation Advisory Board, and he was one until the end,” Richard stated.

“He was a tremendous guy. He helped the city so much. He was really into historic preservation. He also was involved with the Historic Ocala Preservation Society. The city planned to widen Eighth Avenue all the way from the boulevard (Silver Springs Boulevard) to 17^th street, which would have demolished historic homes, including Ira’s, and my office. He and others formed the organization HOPS and went to the city,” Richard shared.

“His attendance was fantastic, he was an important member of the board,” Richard said of OHPAB. “There often would be controversies between the city and homeowners and Ira would work it out.”

Richard said his friend was a “teacher who just couldn’t stop teaching. He was a brilliant guy, and he taught me so much.”

He also remarked that his friend was an avid walker and often encourage others to walk for their health.

Holmes, Richard and retired architect Ted Smith, also a member of the OHPAB board, would leave the monthly board meetings and head downtown. Richard and Smith both said they would begin their evening at Mark’s Prime Steakhouse and that it was not unusual for people to stop by to say hello to Holmes because they had been a student at CF or had taken one of his travel tours.

“I was on the OHPAB for 12 years and Ira had been there forever, 42 years,” Smith said. “We were fortunate to run across each other, he, myself and Jim Richard. I loved talking with Ira, and he was just a real inspiration. He was very professional and really knew what he was talking about, and he was a mentor and leader on our board. I don’t know how many times he served as president, maybe three or four. He was very much involved in the community, with HOPS and other ways, and he loved the idea of helping historic districts and saving historic structures.”

Of their monthly get-togethers, Smith noted that, “After our meeting, we’d get together and not talk about OHPAB at all. Jim loved Mark’s, so we had to go to Mark’s. We’d have a drink and hors d-oeuvres and talk and talk and talk. And people would come up and Ira knew so many people because he taught so many of them at the College of Central Florida, even one of the owners. It was like ‘Cheers’ to us and then we would decide where to go next. We’d go to all the different restaurants; pick a different one each time. On the way back to our cars, we would go by the chocolate shop (Ocala’s Chocolates & Confections), get a double scoop of ice cream and then go home.”

Smith said the three of them “just clicked.”

“You know some people when you’re around them and just nonstop talking about everything under the sun, from politics to trains, which is what Ira loved the most. All of us together was just a great time. We did that for about 12 years. Ira was just so knowledgeable and fun to be around. Very upbeat. Just the nicest person in the world. Really positive, glass half-full type of person,” Smith added.

Richard noted that Holmes “was a train buff. He loved to travel by train and took numerous cross-country trips by train. When passengers service ended in Ocala, he was on the last train through Ocala and so was I, with some other friends. He always hoped passenger service would be restored.”

Smith also noted, “Ira would want for you to say that he helped to encourage rail transportation. He loved trains.”

CONNECTED TO HIS CITY

Richard shared that just days before Holmes passed away, the city of Ocala had planned to issue a proclamation for his years of service. A contingent that included current Mayor Ben Marciano, former mayor Kent Guinn, City Projects Director Tye Chighizola and others met with family members and Holmes as they shared the proclamation.

Chighizola said the private presentation took place on June 6 and that “at a July City Council meeting, we will honor Ira by presenting the proclamation and an award to his family.”

“I have known Ira for 35 years and worked with him on many projects concerning historic preservation. His legacy will continue with his historic preservation, education, and film contributions,” Chighizola stated.

According to Chighizola, who said Holmes was a charter member of HOPS and was appointed to OHPAB in 1982, historic preservation projects that Holmes was involved with included the Fort King Landmark site, Ocala Historic District, Tuscawilla Historic District, Downtown Historic District, West Ocala Historic District, Snowden House Restoration Projects, Marion County Museum of History, Wenona Neighborhood Association, Reilly Arts Center renovation and Marion Theatre renovation.

He shared a copy of the proclamation, which reads in part: “Professor Ira Holmes was an integral part of a united group of residents in the early 1980’s, who, with their collective power, successfully halted the expansion of SE Wenona Avenue from Silver Springs Boulevard to SE 17th Street; and WHEREAS, the Ocala City Council appointed Professor Ira Holmes to the Ocala Historic Preservation Advisory Board (OHPAB) on November 9, 1982, and he has participated in over 400 board meetings; and WHEREAS, the city, with the unwavering support and dedication of Professor Ira Holmes, took a significant step in preserving its rich heritage by adopting the Historic Preservation Code and the Ocala Historic District in 1984, a decision that continues to shape our city’s identity; and WHEREAS, Professor Ira Holmes, a stalwart of the Historic Ocala Preservation Society (HOPS), has been instrumental in formulating the Historic Preservation Plan/Element, Comprehensive Plan, 2035 Vision Plan/Leadership Group, and the establishment of three other historic districts, showcasing his profound understanding and commitment to preserving our city’s heritage…”

FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS

Wendy Adams is on faculty in the humanities department at CF and is the current director of the film series. She was a friend and neighbor of Holmes. It was she who suggested the film series be named in his honor on the 60^th anniversary.

“He had mixed feelings when I asked the college to name it after him because he’s a very humble man,” she noted. She referred to a podcast in which Holmes was given a chance to “brag about the film series and what he did with it, but instead he turns it around and talks about the whole goal of the community college system back in the ‘60s and this idealistic thing that local communities and working class people deserved to have a high-quality higher education and he says the film series was an example of the success of that. He takes the attention away from himself and uses the platform to brag on the community college system.”

Adams said Holmes’ legacy also would be “all those students out there that he inspired through his long career at CF. Kevin always said you couldn’t get out of Publix with his dad because everybody would stop and say how great his class was how he inspired them.”

“But his true legacy is just being an exemplary human being,’’ he continued. “He was an extraordinary person. He had a deep sense of joy and intellectual curiosity for this world and human pursuits. He was very kind and lifted people up. But he was not a Pollyanna. We were talking in the hospital, and he said, ‘I think this a cruel world; I’m painfully aware of that, but I know we always have the potential for greatness. We can do better for each other as human beings.’”

Amy Mangan, a longtime neighbor of Holmes’, said, “Ira was an exquisite lifelong educator and learner in every sense of the word. Not only did he encourage critical thinking for students over many decades, but he also challenged himself. At the age of 88, he took University of Florida’s virtual Music in Film course. I know this because my husband, Mike, took the same course. Their professor joked he had to make sure he prepared before each class knowing Ira would test his proficiency!”

She went on to say, “When I was a dual-enrollment high school student, Ira was my first college professor. Years later, when I joined as a new instructor for the college’s Humanities Department, Ira was also my first boss. The past few years, Mike and I enjoyed movie nights at our home with Ira which turned into a master class on film theory.”

“And I never stopped learning from him,” Mangan added. “Just a few weeks ago while visiting him in the hospital, Ira talked about what he believed was the real definition of being fully alive. He quoted Henry David Thoreau: ‘To be awake is to be alive. We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.’ This the Ira I knew, loved and will forever respect and honor.”

Kevin Holmes said lessons he learned from his father included kindness and respect.

“People will remember his gratitude and good spirit. He enjoyed being a positive influence on others,” he added.

Concha-Holmes said her father “would say hello to everyone, including homeless people, to have a conversation human to human.”

She said she learned from him to have gratitude, regardless of the situation.

“Dad could always see the silver lining and would name and repeat the things for which he was grateful,” she offered.

Holmes, who was interred on June 18 at the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, also is survived by three grandchildren, Ansley, Kele and Irie-Uma. The family asks that those who wish honor Holmes would consider making donations to Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery and/or to the CF Ira Holmes International Film Series through cf.edu/about-cf/cf-foundation/giving