Thomas Arthur Holmes
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Tom Holmes, former CEO of Ingersoll Rand Company, passed away quietly and peacefully on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, surrounded by his loving family. He was born and raised in Wilmington, MA, son of John Thomas and Marion Eileen Burtt Holmes. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Joan Merritt Holmes; his four children, Nanne, Susan Eelman, Bruce and John Holmes and their families; 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; a brother, Dr. G. Burtt Holmes; and a brother-in-law, Frank Merritt. He is predeceased by his loving sister, Priscilla Bedell.
After an Honorable Discharge from the U.S.Navy, serving in WWII as a U. S. Navy pilot, and graduating from the Missouri School of Mines-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO), Tom Holmes joined Ingersoll Rand in the construction and mining regional office in St. Louis, MO. He rose to the position of Chairman, President and C.E.O of the company in 1980. As an executive at Ingersoll Rand, he completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in Cambridge, MA. Tom Holmes was a successful and ambitious leader, well respected by all his employees. He was proud of Ingersoll Rand and his many accomplishments in the success of the company. He was admired for his leadership, infectious smile, as well as his kind and compassionate spirit.
Tom Holmes served on the Boards of Directors for Becton Dickinson and Company, Newmont Mining Corporation, Norton Company, Chesebrough-Pond's Company, W. R. Grace and Company (where he also served as interim C.E.O. after the death of J. Peter Grace) and the American Mining Congress. He was a Partner in the investment firms of Metapoint Partners and Gateshead Partners.
At his alma mater, the Missouri University of Science and Technology, he served as a Board of Trustee Emeritus and received a Professional Distinction Degree in Mining Engineering, an Honorary Degree in Science and Technology, and the Alumni of Influence Honoree. He was a member of the Order of the Golden Shillelagh Executive Committee and the Academy of Mines and Metallurgy. At Lafayette College Tom Holmes served on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1987 and in 1981 he was awarded an Honorary LL.D Degree.
Tom Holmes was a generous philanthropist with a strong desire to help people. He established two scholarships (the Thomas A. and Joan M. Holmes Scholarship and the Thomas and Joan Endowment Scholarship) at the Missouri University of Science and Technology of Rolla, MO. His wife, a graduate of Indiana University, established The J. Bruce and Helen F. Merritt Scholarship in the Herman B. Wells Scholars Program at Indiana University. They founded the Thomas A. and Joan M. Holmes Foundation to support many charities.
Tom Holmes and his wife lived in New Hope, PA before moving to Naples, FL. They spent many happy years in their favorite vacation spot, the Island of Nantucket. In his younger years, Tom Holmes had a passion for horses; and he enjoyed the time he spent at his horse farm, Gateshead Farm, in New Hope, PA. He had a lifelong passion for the game of golf and was a member of several prestigious golf clubs.
Private services were held Sunday, October 13, at the United Church of Christ in Naples, Florida. Another service will be held in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Friday, October 18, 2019.
We will miss an extraordinary, kind, successful gentleman!
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in his name to the hospice care organization, AVOW, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105.
Online condolences may be offered at FullerNaples.com.