There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone, the light remains. Jan Lea (Fridlund) Holmes was one such person. She had an incredible enthusiasm for life, a playful spirit and a deep-seated drive to never stop learning.
Born on Feb. 5, 1950, to Ester M. (Ness) and Clifford W. Fridlund, she grew up in North Dakota, Utah and Texas. Her family moved to Arizona where she attended college and where she was selected by Hughes Airwest to become a flight attendant. In that role, she once spent a week as part of a flight crew that ferried Elvis Presley to Las Vegas while his personal plane was grounded for repairs, an enterprise that she took delight in recounting.
Jan met and married Steve Holmes while they both worked for the airlines. For 33 years they loved to travel together, play golf, enjoy the arts, work in their yard and gather with family and friends. Their family always included at least one beloved and overindulged yellow Labrador retriever. They owned Toby’s Tavern in Coupeville for 10 years and she had great fun interacting with the patrons there.
Jan was a gifted artist and belonged to Penn Cove Gallery. She loved to combine her passions for travel and painting. Her artwork portrayed the beauty she saw in France and Mexico in addition to that of Whidbey Island and the surrounding marine life.
Jan joined WSU/Island County Beach Watchers in 1990 and was so fascinated by her first glimpse of the ecology of the marine world that she returned to college to pursue her lifelong interest in science and to earn a master’s degree in marine biology from Western Washington University. She worked at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and Shannon Point Marine Laboratories and took on a leadership role in Beach Watchers.
As a Beach Watcher volunteer, she was instrumental in setting up beach monitoring and eelgrass study programs. She had a passion for studying and teaching about copepods, marine worms, sea grasses, and other flora and fauna of the Salish Sea. For this work she was honored with Western Washington’s 2010 Cox Conserves Heroes Award. Jan was a past member of the Marine Resources Committee, was a founding member and board president of Periwinkle Press and belonged to the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Jan passed away in her home on Dec. 15, 2011, after a lengthy battle with cancer. She is survived by her loving husband Steve, stepsons Brad, Bret, and Todd Holmes, her canine child Chester, brothers Mark Fridlund and Roger Burns, nieces Ria Kaelin and Stacy Loken, “nieceletts” Grey and Chalyce Kaelin, and many friends. Jan’s remarkable charisma and energy will continue to inspire her family, friends and her extended community. The sparkle she added to everything she touched will be missed by all. A memorial service is pending. Her family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be directed to LEP-Beach Watchers, WEAN, or to a scholarship fund being set up in Jan’s name at Whidbey Island Bank.
