Carolyn Judith Holmes Bauman

Carolyn Bauman

Carolyn Judith Holmes Bauman, a beloved mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on December 17, 2024 in Kirkland, Washington, at the age of 89.

Carolyn was born on November 11, 1935 in Barnstable, Massachusetts the seventh of Henry and Ruby Holmes ten children.  She grew up on her family’s farm on the Cape (Falmouth, Massachusetts) and always referred to herself as a strong, independent New Englander.  And she certainly was.

Carolyn would tell her children stories about growing up on the Cape. She had many fond memories but there were also struggles. There was very little money and while Carolyn always had a very inquisitive mind, and loved school, she could not afford to go to college.  Instead, after she graduated from high school in 1953, she attended the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital School of Nursing in Boston.  Carolyn completed her nursing studies in 1956 and then embarked on a brief career as a nurse in Boston, Florida, and New York City where she met her future husband, Gene Bauman.  Gene’s conscription in the Navy as a doctor led to a move first to Long Beach, California and then to Seattle, Washington in 1961.  While Carolyn always thought she would remain on the Cape, raising her children alongside her sister Dorie, she spent the duration of her life in Washington state.  But she never lost her Cape Cod accent or identity.

Carolyn loved children and her biggest desire was to be a mother.  She spent the next fourteen years raising her four young children on the family “farm” in Woodinville, WA, supporting them in all their activities.   She was a very proficient gardener, and had beautiful floral gardens, and a large vegetable garden.  Her children ate organic food years before it was available at grocery stores.  She was very physically active.  She jogged before it became popular, was a proficient cross-country skier, and even climbed mountains, including Mount Rainer, with a mountaineering group.

In 1974 Carolyn and her husband separated and subsequently divorced.  Life changed drastically.  Carolyn only had a nursing certificate and had been out of the profession for years.  She knew the only way she could have a stable financial future was to go back to school.   While working full-time at nursing homes, and being responsible for the care of her children, Carolyn completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington. In 1980 she then embarked on her long career as a registered nurse, spending her final fifteen years with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.   State budget cuts during that time-frame resulted in Carolyn’s move to Cheney, WA where she provided nursing to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Lakeland Village in Medical Lake, WA.

While she originally moved for work, Carolyn discovered she loved the small town of Cheney.  She found the wheat fields to be especially beautiful.  Carolyn retired in June 2004 and spent the next fourteen years in her beloved Cheney home, where she again created beautiful floral gardens.  She also had time to enjoy her love of music (especially opera), reading, and puzzle making.  Carolyn developed visual and hearing impairments but remained fiercely independent.  She gave up driving and walked everywhere, no matter the weather conditions.  She also became a proficient lip reader. In 2018, to the relief of her children, she decided to move back to Woodinville to be closer to family.  Carolyn then embraced an active social life at Creekside Senior Independent Living until her debilitating stroke in March 2022.

Carolyn taught her children how to be resilient despite adversity, to have a strong work ethic, to be independent, and to be compassionate of others.  She passed on to them her love of nature, animals, art, reading, music, healthy eating, and physical activity.  She is survived by her children Kim Bauman-Peterson (John Peterson), Kerry Bauman, Sean Bauman, and Stormy Lee Rollins, and her grandchildren Cody Bauman, Jessie Bauman, and Ellie Costello.  She is preceded in death by her parents and her nine siblings.  We hope that she is reunited with them on the Cape family farm.