Ransom Steele Holmes III

Ransom Steele Holmes III was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on January 14, 1937, to Barbara Brochon and Ransom S. Holmes, Jr. He had a younger sister, Janet Holmes Heckscher. While growing up in Hinsdale, Illinois, he lived across the street from his future lifelong partner, Judy Allen Skelton. Holmes was one year ahead of Skelton in school.
Holmes was an active athlete and earned good grades, which led to many offers of full scholarships to military colleges and universities. He wanted to fly so he chose to join the first class of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado because they guaranteed he would fly after graduation in June 1959. At the academy, Holmes played football and started to adjust to military life.

After graduation in 1959, Holmes embarked on his military career, starting as a Lieutenant and eventually reaching the rank of LT. Colonel. His post-graduation military career includes:

1959-1960: Pilot training at Bartow and Greenville Airbases.

1960-1964: Pilot at McClellan Air Force Base (AFB).

1964-1965: Pilot in Vietnam at Bien Hoa AFB and Ton Son Nhut AFB.

1965-1967: Student at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

1967-1970: Stan Eval Pilot for C-47/C-54 aircraft at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona.

1970-1973: Air Operations Officer at the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Test Site in Nevada.

1974-1977: Chief of the BUIC Programming Agency at Fallon Naval Air Station (NAS), Nevada.

1974-1977: Chief of the War Games Programming Branch at Offutt AFB.

1977-1979: Deputy Commander of the Programming Center in Birkenfeld.

1979-1980: Operations and Training Officer at Cannon AFB.

Throughout his career, he earned numerous awards and decorations, including:

Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards)

Air Medal (5 awards)

Air Force Commendation Medal (2 awards)

After his military career, Holmes worked for 21 years as a Systems Engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company in Fullerton, California, before retiring at age 65.

He was married twice. His first wife was Kay Lee Poppenhagger, and they had two sons: Ransom S. Holmes IV, known as Randy, and Russell Scott Holmes, known as Scott. His second wife, Ann Jackson, passed away in 2014 after nearly 48 years of marriage. Ann had three children: Deanne James, Mike Williamson, and Ben Williamson. Holmes had many grandchildren and two great-grandsons. One of his great-grandsons is named Ransom S. Holmes VI, also called Steele.

Holmes had a great fondness for pets. His first pet was a kitten named Wiggles, and he also had a Great Dane named Duke. When Holmes was two years old, Duke pulled him out of the water by his collar, saving him from drowning. For this heroic act, Duke received a Ken-L-Ration award certificate. Pets were drawn to his patience and kindness. He passed away on June 10, 2025.