Friends say this tough giant with a soft heart approaches life like it’s the fourth quarter.
As Zanzucchi recalls, “In football in the ‘60s, those guys were tough. They didn’t leave the game. They put tape around their injuries, gave them smelling salts and they ran back out and played some more. Whatever Steve does is a football metaphor. He could have quit work a dozen times because of injuries. To go 50 years in his profession and keep getting back up despite injuries and illnesses and keep working, it’s like it’s the fourth quarter and he’s not going to quit. It’s an amazing thing to see.”
Steve Holmes is the founder of Steve Holmes Building Construction, and it would be challenging to drive through Flagstaff without seeing something that he hadn’t had his hands on.
Holmes, also known as “Holmer,” returned to Flagstaff in 1974, having previously played as an NAU footballer. After his last season as a Lumberjack, an unprecedented nine players from the team were signed on with the pros – with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, New York Giants and the Houston Oilers, where Holmes went to play as offensive and defensive tackle.
He established Steve Holmes Masonry in 1978 in Flagstaff. Among his initial projects, his team laid the groundwork for the Milton Safeway Shopping Center and contributed to the construction of the Coconino Community College on 4th Street. Expanding his expertise in the late ‘80s, Holmes obtained his general contracting license, overseeing significant construction projects such as the Golightly Tire Bandag Retread Facility and the NAU Bookstore.
In the early 2000s, he was actively involved in various projects, including foundational work in Foxglenn and various projects in Continental Country Club. In 2006, his son, Kip Holmes, who studied architecture, returned from Seattle, Washington, to join him.
“There are so many buildings, as I look around this town of Flagstaff, that my dad has touched- so many buildings that are still here, so many homes that are still here, so many commercial buildings that have been redone but the foundation remains. Steve Holmes has been an integral part of the brick and mortar – literally – of this town. And I am proud to be a part of his legacy,” said Kip, founder of KH Elements Construction.
As the father-son team evolved, their work took them to Northern Arizona’s luxury communities. They built or remodeled more than 50 homes in areas including Forest Highlands, Flagstaff Ranch, Pine Canyon and Sedona. They never had a website, never a Facebook account and never advertised. Those around them say they built an impressive portfolio on a foundation of loyalty, quality and friendship, while keeping overhead costs low and construction costs transparent.
According to friends like Flagstaff Sports Hall of Fame inductee Doug Allan, “Every community needs a guy like Steve Holmes. If there are things that need to be done, he steps up to get them done.”
Allan, who played for the NAU IceJacks and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues, coached the NAU team and Flagstaff Youth Hockey. He says Holmes became involved in the Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association because his kids were in ice sports. He soon became president of the organization. He also started the NAU Hockey Club.
“If we took kids to play in Colorado, California or North Dakota, he worked to get the flights arranged and paid for it,” said Allan. “He helped kids financially; he’d find them a place to stay or get them a job. The Flagstaff ice rink didn’t have locker rooms, so Keith Johanson and Steve Holmes split the project. Keith did the dirt work; Steve did the masonry work. If it weren’t for those two, I don’t know if that would have gotten done.”
The NAU community has been important to Holmes since the day he rode in on his motorcycle.
“Steve Holmes is an honest, hard-working man. He is my true true friend, almost like a brother. “We’ve been friends for over 50 years,” said Tom Ramsey, of Tom Ramsey Construction, who played football at NAU with Holmes, then for the Kansas City Chiefs and one year in the World Football League. “I would have to tell you there’s not a better person in the world. I love him. He’s a great man.”
Holmes, Ramsey, Zanzucchi and others founded the original “WayBackJacks” in 1996. This group was originally dedicated to the men who played football at NAU during the late ‘60s and early 70s. They are the “Jacks” who played in the outdoor Lumberjack Stadium on what is now called Max Spilsbury Field. Today, the “WayBackJacks” refers to NAU athletes, trainers and friends from NAU’s impressive past.
“These friendships that formed ‘WayBack’ have only become more valued as time goes on,” said Holmes, who, along with his family, continues to attend tailgate parties and support the Lumberjacks every fall.
Holmes also continues to step up and step in to tackle needs in organizations such as Christchurch of Flagstaff, Toys for Tots, Operation Christmas Child and Habitat for Humanity. The Holmes family also supports a number of veterans organizations in Flagstaff and Northern Arizona.
“His friendship goes deep,” said Zanzucchi of Holmes. “He’s helped us a ton with Granny’s Closet, the Museum Club and apartments behind Safeway [on Cedar Avenue]. He’s caring, he’s compassionate, he will do anything for anybody. If there’s a friend in need, Steve Holmes is there. He’s a bruiser with a heart of gold.”
A tough guy from a tougher time, Holmes, one of the original board members of the Flagstaff Sports Foundation, continues to have a giant impact. Humble and thankful, he speaks and acts from his heart, like an offensive tackle in the fourth quarter. “I’m most grateful for my family, my friends, my community, my church and my relationship with Jesus Christ,” he says. FBN
By Kimberly Trotta-Holmes and Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Photo courtesy of Bayley Jordan Photography: Three generations of Holmes family members pose in downtown Flagstaff with Steve Holmes, Kip Holmes, Okean Holmes, 9, Isabella Holmes, 11, Kimberly Trotta-Holmes and Teri Holmes.
