Barbara K. Holmer

Barbara Kimball Holmer, 91, of Littleton, MA, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 15, 2024. Born July 20, 1933, she was the daughter of the late John and Clara (Mottram) Kimball of Westford, MA.

Barbara, “Bobby” to most, was one of those people that was up for any adventure and sitting still was never on the to do list. Raised on a farm in Westford, MA she and her sister and brother worked hard and played hard and she would highly recommend raising all children on a farm. She could grow a great garden (with saltwater and seaweed fertilizer), cut and stack wood, drive any truck or tractor, carve an animal from wood and even build a boat. A car ride to nowhere or maybe a stop at cousin’s, niece or nephew’s house was also a perfect day. Alternatively, a full day on a boat – any boat – whether she had to row it herself or sit in the sun on the bow, she was always at home on the ocean on the coast of Maine. As for cooking, it was best to stick to meat and potatoes and learn to survive on her three favorite food groups: ice cream, brownies, and popcorn.

As things progressed at the farm, a thriving ice cream business resulted from all those dairy cows. Bobby and her siblings continued to love life on the farm with the addition of this new business with their mom and dad. She eventually left the farm for a bit, as most kids do, and went off to UMass Amherst to become a teacher, where she would meet her husband, John ‘Jack’ Holmer of Milton, MA. Bobby became a teacher upon graduation, but always worked two jobs (someone had to scoop the ice cream!) She and Jack made Littleton their forever home where they served the community through countless organizations and The First Baptist Church. They welcomed three children over the years, Johnny, Jimmy and Jean. Soon the family grew with the addition of grandchildren which she focused on teaching all that she had learned on the farm. And with every very full long life naturally came the great-grandchildren, which brought her a new level of joy as the three little ones kept her active in the later years. Some would say it was luck that the extended family stayed local between Littleton and Westford, but in Bobby’s case it was the environment she created that was an irresistible magnet.

Bobby is survived by her husband of 66 years, John ‘Jack’ Holmer, of Littleton, MA as well as their children James Kimball Holmer, and Jean Kimberly and her husband David Lizotte. She was a loving grandmother to Ashley and her husband Christopher Austermann, Gregory Lizotte and his wife Kaitlyn, and Erika Lizotte all of Littleton, MA. She has three great-grandchildren she adored, Beckett and Brooks Austermann and Adalyn Lizotte. She also leaves her beloved sister Beverly Lamburn of Westford, MA. And her loving, supportive nieces and nephews; Micheal, Peter and Laurie Kimball, Janet Friot, Judy Thompson, and Donald Lamburn.

Bobby is predeceased by her parents, John and Clara Kimball, her in-laws Gosta and Alice Holmer, her brother Stanley and his wife Katherine Kimball, and her son, John K. Holmer Jr.

Family and friends are invited to gather and celebrate Bobby’s life on Thursday, September 19, 2024, from 5:00PM -7:00PM at Badger Funeral Home 347 King St. Littleton, MA 01460. A graveside service will be held on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 11:00AM at Westlawn Cemetery.

For those who wish to attend services remotely, please visit the link below five minutes prior to the scheduled service time: 

Badger Livestream: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/156599/c/541147

In lieu of flowers those wishing can make a donation in Bobby’s name to: Westford Academy Scholarship Trust for a graduating Senior pursuing farming, agriculture or horticulture, Westford Academy Scholarship Fund, 30 Patten Road, Westford, MA 01886, c/o Kimball Family Scholarship (Barbara Kimball Holmer, class of 1951)