Anita Jane Holmes

Anita Jane Holmes, 84, of Wasilla, and formerly of Crystal Falls, Michigan, died peacefully at Northern Living Center in Wasilla on Feb. 12, 2015, surrounded by family.

Services are at 2 p.m., April 10 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla. The family will greet well-wishers before the service. Burial will be Sept. 29, 2015 in Crystal Falls, Michigan.

Anita was born Nov. 7, 1930, on the family farm outside of Amasa, Michigan, to her parents Victor Peltonen, a Finnish immigrant, and Elma (née Maki) Peltonen, a first-generation woman of Finnish heritage. Anita was the youngest of six children: Ruth, Mamie, Lillian, Katherine and Richard.

In 1948, Anita graduated from Amasa High School and two years later married Richard (Bud) Petersen of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin. They had two sons, Bob and Bill. Bud died in 1954. Anita married David (Dave) F. Holmes, of Alpha, Michigan, in 1956. They had two children, Brian and Lynn.

Following her marriage to Dave the couple settled in Crystal Falls where they lived until 1970. Anita was very active in the community, including First Lutheran Church (later United Lutheran Church), Parent Teacher Association, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Dave’s career in exploration drilling then took them across the United States, with stops in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Missouri and Tennessee. They also had a multi-year posting in Indonesia. Following Dave’s retirement they bought a motorhome and traveled North and Central America to visit family and friends and volunteer for Mission Builders, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ministry that builds and remodels churches.

Dave and Anita’s Mission Builder projects ranged from Mexico, Nova Scotia, St. Thomas, California to Alaska. In the late 1990s, they returned to Michigan to care for Anita’s mother. During that time, Anita returned to multiple lay positions at United Lutheran Church and a leadership role at the Amasa Historical Society. Anita and Dave were recognized as Citizens of Year by the Crystal Falls Lions Club.

In 2010 Dave and Anita moved to Alaska to allow for the support of their daughter Lynn and her family. Throughout all of Anita’s travels she was active in the Lutheran church where she made many friends and was sustained by her faith.

Anita is survived by her husband, Dave; sons, Dr. Robert Holmes and his wife, Sharon Carmody-Holmes, (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), William Holmes and his wife, Lynn, (Sonora, California), and Brian Holmes (Naples, Florida); daughter, Lynn Haralson and her husband Kelly (Palmer). She is also survived by grandchildren Suellen (spouse Jeff), Craig (Brenda), Matthew (Amanda), Heather (fiancé Jacob), Amber (spouse Ben), Andrew and Shantel (Darrin), and great-grandchildren Olivia, Carson, Avery, Lincoln and Allen. Anita was preceded in death by her parents, first husband and siblings.

The family suggests that memorials be directed to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, youth group ministries, 501 Bogard Rd., Wasilla, AK 99654.