John E. Holmes, 71, of New Bedford died August 22, 2017 at St. Luke's Hospital after a brief illness.
He was the husband of the late Mark A. Johnson.
Born and raised in New Bedford, the son of the late Gabriel R. and Alice L. (Brown) Holmes, he lived in Philadelphia for many years before retiring to New Bedford.
He was formerly employed as a respiratory technician at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia for many years until his retirement.
Mr. Holmes received his Ph.D in Religion and was known as Friar Kilian who served as Archbishop of Christ's Evangelical Catholic Church.
He enjoyed playing bingo and sudoko. He was an avid Boston Red Sox and New England Patriot's fan.
Survivors include his 3 sisters, Clara "Betty" Vieira, Ruth Lewis and Linda Pierce, all of New Bedford; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was the brother of the late Loretta Wnek, Margaret Trahan, James Holmes, Mary Ellen Ribeiro and Gabriel Holmes, Jr.
His visiting hours will be held on Thursday, August 31st from 4-7 PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in John's memory may be made to the amFAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, 120 Wall St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10005-3908 www.amfar.com.