The passing of our dearly loved brother, Gerald Staggie, occurred early on the morning of Tuesday, March 12th, 2024.
Slayton, Minnesota was the location where Gerald was born on June 6th, 1968. Among the seven children that were born to Alfred “Sonny” and Wyonne (Scarset) Holmes, he was the sixth kid. During his childhood, Gerald was christened at the Lutheran Church in Slayton, and he later received confirmation there. As a member of the Slayton High School class of 1987, he received his diploma.
After that, he persisted with his study at Minnesota West in Jackson, where he studied auto body repair and ultimately graduated in the year 1989. Gerald has always had a passion for automobiles and getting into mischief. During his younger years, he was active in the sports of wrestling and cross country. In addition to anything that involved a motor, he adored dirt track racing.
He educated himself into the intricacies of everything that he came into contact with. In the year 1989, Gerald met Nichole Sanow, the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. A few years later, the couple tied the knot and began their family. Together with their three children, Erica, Nicholas, and Alek, they established their base of operations in Russell, Minnesota.
Gerald was a man who was always busy and had a solution to anything came up. He was capable of doing what he set out to do. Gerald always had a story to tell and a lesson to impart, whether it was about trucking, racing, construction, auto body work, or how to get yourself out of a sticky situation. In particular, he found great satisfaction in imparting his expertise to his fellow employees at Schwan’s, D&G Excavating, Wayne Transport, Enviro Pump Plus, and Gravely Trucking. He took immense delight in each and every job that he worked on, and he shared his expertise with others. The year 2013 saw the beginning of Gerald’s own company, Holmes Trucking.
Gerald was incredibly driven and put in a lot of effort to provide for the people he cherishes the most, in addition to the various projects he was working on. It was not uncommon for him to put in long hours of labor at times. He demonstrated, time and time again, how little sleep a person would actually require.
Gerald was known for being someone who his friends and family could depend on at all times, and he was widely recognized for providing assistance in any manner that he could. There could have been a lack of ability to say no, or it could have simply been the fact that he was the only person who has the necessary knowledge and expertise.
On the other hand, Gerald was the “go-to guy” for practically everything, regardless of the situation. Those who knew Gerald will always remember him for his cheeky pranks, his amazing stories, and his infectious laugh. Gerald was given a diagnosis of brain cancer in the month of September in the year 2023.
It was on February 18th, 2024 that he finally gave in to the illness after a long and arduous fight against it. When he passed away, he was surrounded by his family, including his wife and his children. It had been 55 years, 8 months, and 13 days since he had attained retirement age. May his memory be immortalized.
