Owen Evans
49 posts
Jun 19, 2015
2:43 PM
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WENDELL HOLMES, DECEMBER 19, 1943 - JUNE 19, 2015
Wendell Holmes, vocalist, guitarist, pianist and songwriter of the critically acclaimed soul/blues band The Holmes Brothers, died on Friday, June 19 at his home in Rosedale, Maryland of complications due to pulmonary hypertension. Earlier this week, Wendell addressed his fans and friends in an open letter as he moved into hospice care. He was 71.
(By the way, I serve on the board of the Canadian Pulmonary Hypertension Association and it saddens me to see yet another person succumb to this debilitating disease.)
Here's his letter:
As I write this letter, I am preparing to go home on hospice care. One benefit of hospice is the time it allows you to say some of the things you want to say to those you love and care about. I’m grateful for the opportunity to say “thanks” to many friends for your many expressions of love to me and my wife Barbara.
Thank you for being my friends in life. You’ve shown me how you care through your many cards, letters, phone calls, home and hospital visits, on line acknowledgements, and more importantly, your prayers. Please know that it is greatly appreciated and I am awed by it all. It means a lot to me.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said that “the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but will never forget what they did here.” Of course, I’m no Lincoln, but I believe there’s an element of truth there, and I do hope my music, whether some song I wrote, sang or maybe some notes I played, will leave a lasting impression.
You know that it is my custom to tell everyone who will listen…”don’t go it alone,” and I can tell you that it’s been by God’s amazing grace that I have had a truly enjoyable journey. It's been a great ride and my thanks to you for making it so.
I love you, and may God bless you all!
Wendell Holmes
P.S. Thanks too as you continue to support, enjoy and appreciate the gifts in my big brother Sherman as he carries on The Holmes Brothers legacy with his own Sherman Holmes Project along with Brooks Long and Eric Kennedy.
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