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Loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt, great aunt, cousin, and friend, Cindy passed away February 27th, 2023 at home at the age of 67. Cindy is preceded in death by her father Herbert (Bear) Holmes and sister Diane Holmes. She is survived by her mother Marguerite Holmes, daughter Amanda Holmes-Davidian and wife Kelly Kell, brother Dr. Peter Holmes, sister-in-law Susan Holmes, niece Dr. Pamela Holmes and husband Scott Herrick, nephew Daniel Holmes and wife Andrea Holmes, great nieces and nephews Melody, Clara, Forrest, James, and Samantha, along with other loving family members, friends, and last but not least her dog, Angel. Born to an Air Force pilot and a teacher, Cindy spent her childhood moving from place to place, including New York, Illinois, Puerto Rico, Alabama, Massachusetts, the Philippines, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and California. After graduating from high school, Cindy settled in Chico, California, where she attended college, earned her LVN, and became a mother to her daughter, Amanda. Cindy loved spending time in the great outdoors, including tubing down Butte Creek under the covered bridge and hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. In 1986, Cindy and Amanda moved to San Antonio, Texas, and it was there that she spent the next 36 years of her life. Cindy was a dedicated office manager and insurance specialist at Sports Occupational & Knee Surgery for more than 20 years. She took great pride in helping patients navigate complex insurance requirements and ensuring they were approved for life-changing surgeries. Cindy was also a proud recovering alcoholic, sober for nearly 13 years, and she was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous. She found purpose in service and was often the only woman in the room, knowing that she could make a difference in someone's recovery just by being there. Cindy was also a three-time cancer survivor and an inspiration to others. She was passionate about educating people on genetic testing and the BRCA gene she carried, which can cause cancer. Even during her last battle with cancer in 2015, she continued to attend AA meetings in person, providing inspiration to others in recovery. Music and cooking were Cindy's greatest passions. She was an avid concert-goer and loved bands like Tool, Judas Priest, A Perfect Circle, Godsmack, Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Metallica, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, and ZZ Top, among many others. Her love language was cooking. She often cooked birthday cakes for each family member's birthday and enjoyed making meals for her mom. Every time she would visit her daughter Amanda, the first thing she would plan was the meals to cook. She was famous for her Christmas candy, Cindy’s Nut Crunch, which she would make annually and gift to family and friends. Her recipe has been passed on to many people and is shared below to continue the tradition. Cindy's strong spirit, quick wit, open-mindedness, love, and cooking will be deeply missed by all who knew her. She leaves behind her daughter, Amanda, as well as countless friends, and colleagues whose lives she touched with her kindness, generosity, and commitment to helping others. Cindy’s Nut Crunch: 1 cup sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) REAL butter (salted) 1 to 1 1/2 cup of whole nuts - almonds or pecans work best (2 cups even better) 3T water 1 to 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate - depends on how much chocolate you want - don't want to overpower the crunch stuff Use a heavy skillet (frying pan). put all ingredients except chocolate in skillet. use butter wrappers to grease pizza pan or cookie sheet. do this first, before you start cooking, or the candy will burn while you get the pan ready. Heat skillet and first 4 ingredients over medium heat, stirring to combine. Once butter is melted, increase heat to medium high. stirring constantly bring mixture to rapid boil. continue to boil for 10 minutes, keep stirring! candy will turn from pale yellow to a nice amber. if you need a candy thermometer the first couple of times, cook to "hard crack stage". immediately pour candy out onto prepared pan, smooth out layer with back of cooking spoon. wait a few minutes for candy to "set" and then sprinkle with chocolate chips or chocolate. wait for it to melt, then smooth to cover candy with a nice chocolate layer. Allow candy to cool to room temp, or place outside, or in fridge if needed. When cool, break into pieces and EAT!!!!

Tributes

Cynthia Louise Holmes

May 23, 1955 - February 27, 2023