Dear Reader: What you really want to know is: "What did he die of?"  To paraphrase his longtime physician, Dr. Steven Gawey, Burt B. Holmes died on January 15, 2025 of TMB disease — too many birthdays.  The more proximate cause was leukemia, diagnosed in April 2022.

Throughout this medical journey Burt was guided by Dr. Robert Todd with his kindness and good cheer.  And once he started the path set by leukemia, Burt was lucky to be cared for by "rock star" Dr. Alan Keller, and then by the incomparable Dr. Caleb Scheckel.

To his many friends who kept up with visits and lunches and basketball games, Burt says thank you for more than you can ever know.  He was especially grateful to his long-time friend Robert Lockwood who, once Burt could no longer drive, shepherded him on various adventures with remarkable good humor, patience and tact.

As for his life, Burt claimed to be boring because he never left town: born in Saint John's hospital; schooled at Barnard, Elliot and Will Rogers; graduated in business from the University of Tulsa.  People often claimed that "everyone" in Tulsa knew Burt Holmes, and that was not far from the truth.  Strangers recognized him as the co-founder of QuikTrip.  Others celebrated him for his astonishing personal generosity and his big-hearted philanthropy.

Burt was born on October 8, 1931, the eldest child of Dan P. Holmes, an insurance agent known in Tulsa for promoting "Highway 33," and Alice Margaret (Lamberton McConnell), a traditional homemaker.  He was older brother to Dan P., Junior and Victor M.  In 1952 Burt married Mary Carlynne Lea while they were both still in college; they had five children, Jeffrey Winthrop, Jennifer Lea, Julia Ann, Janice Megan and Joan Catherine.

He married Laura Jo Heidinger in 1984, and during their time together they founded a model childcare center in Bucharest, Romania. Burt's subsequent trips to Romania led to an academic exchange between the philosophy departments of the University of Tulsa and the University of Bucharest.  In classic Burt fashion, he became friends with Radu Filipescu, a leading dissident under the Ceausescu regime, and Emil Constantinescu, who later served as president of the young republic.

In 1997 he met Mary Lee Townsend, his sweetheart and partner for the next twenty-eight years.  Burt often joined Mary Lee on her research trips to Europe where they added to Burt's art collection.  Among the highlights of their travels together were annual pilgrimages to the world's largest arts and antiques fair in Maastricht in the Netherlands.

Along with his school friend Chester Cadieux, Burt co-founded QuikTrip in 1958 but, as he like to note, he never quit his "day job."  Before, during and after starting QT he was as an insurance agent, first working for his father and then, after 1968, starting his own insurance agency which became The Holmes Organisation.

As a serial entrepreneur Burt participated in a wide variety of industries.  A short list would include banking, where he served on the board of directors of Utica Bank, National Bank of Commerce, Oklahoma National Bank and First Oklahoma Bank.  In the insurance and health services he was a founder, owner or chairman of Healthfood Associates (Akins), Leaders Life Insurance, American Institute of Medical Technology and National Occupational Health Services.  As a born and bred Okie he also dabbled in oil and gas businesses with the Hurricane Trading Company and Gas Energy Development Co.

Burt was always quick to point out that not all his ventures prospered, but eventually he was successful enough to devote much of his time, effort and treasure to community service.

You have probably seen Burt's name on various "walls of honor" around town as an important donor to institutions such as the Gilcrease Museum, the University of Tulsa, the Greenwood Cultural Center and the Gathering Place.  He was especially proud of his ongoing engagement with TU and of the boardroom that QuikTrip donated and named in his honor.

Beyond this he put in untold hours as board chairman or director of organizations such as Family and Children's Services, Palmer Drug Abuse Program, Thornton Family Y, Tulsa Philharmonic, Philips Theological Seminary and the Reed Foundation.  Other types of community service included work as a member of the Oklahoma Crime Commission and the Oklahoma Bar Association's Professional Responsibility Commission, as well as with veterans' groups such as the Coffee Bunker.  Another notable contribution was as co-underwriter of the Tulsa World Special Edition on the Tulsa Race Massacre in 2021.

Those who worked with Burt on charitable boards knew that his service was about hard work and commitment, not just dollars.  When he became the first donor to the Tulsa Botanic Garden, he announced to Pat Woodrum, the founding director, that the two of them would sit down once a week to make the phone calls necessary for successful fundraising.  It was his gift for persuading others to contribute to a vision that helped multiply his impact.  As one friend put it, when you saw Burt coming on a behalf of a good cause, you might as well pull out your checkbook.

The projects that were closest to Burt's heart were those where he could help a far-sighted person take the first step to realize his or her dream.  When Chris Batchelor wanted to create a safe haven for young girls in Tanzania, and his grandfather Ray Batchelor gave him seed money, Burt quickly matched the donation, the first of many.  When Hope International approached him about infrastructure needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he stepped up to create the Congo Bridge Project.

Burt's greatest joy was as a mentor to young people.  He had a keen eye for talent, grit and a good heart.  In 1994, at his favorite Taco Bueno in Brookside, he spotted these qualities in the assistant manager, Ann-Marie Constable, who eventually became the CFO of The Holmes Organisation and a life-long friend.

Burt was happy to provide the proverbial "leg up" with advice, connections or financial help, but he also perfected the art of what one could call "quantum leverage."  A refugee working in a restaurant or a secretary in a friend's office might have bad teeth that marred their appearance and prevented them from finding better job opportunities; if so, Burt would arrange for proper dental care.  If a college student yearned to attend TU but could only afford a lesser institution, Burt would ask for a spreadsheet and a budget and then make up the difference.  If Mary Lee mentioned a student in one of her classes who could not afford books or TU's student fees, Burt would quietly buy the books or pay the fees.  One could list literally thousands of such unsung individual acts of generosity.

More conventionally, Burt sponsored prizes in the art department at TU and diversity scholarships that have made a huge difference in students' lives.  When he heard that students at his alma mater Will Rogers needed counselors and mental health mentoring, he set up a program to provide for this.  When he read about Afghan refugees relocating to Tulsa, he quietly went to Catholic Charities to offer financial assistance.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted him to similar action.  The number of creative ways he found to help others was astonishing and seemingly endless.

Not surprisingly Burt was tapped for many awards, including TU's Outstanding Alumnus, Outstanding Entrepreneur and J. Paschal Twyman Awards (which, he quipped, meant he finally got to be Homecoming King).  Among others were the Tulsa Historical Society Hall of Fame and the Outstanding Philanthropist Award of Eastern Oklahoma.

In later years Burt, a life-long Republican, became alarmed at how mean-spirited the party had become so, although he never changed his voting affiliation, he increased his contributions to institutions that encourage democratic and humanitarian values.  Many Tulsans will remember his ads in the Tulsa World lampooning pompous politicians; others will know of his low-key aid to people and organizations who defend the best of American ideals and values.  To his great amusement he became a TikTok star in 2024 after sponsoring billboards that led to an interview on the local news and was then shared millions of times.

Burt was pleased by these honors, and charmed by his TikTok fame, but he found his greatest satisfaction in his great circle of friends and in his love for his children.  His running group, the River Rats, eventually evolved into the Wise Men of the Coffee Shop, where he had an outlet for his unfiltered opinions — wisdom optional.  His children and grandchildren gave him much to brag about, much to laugh about, and even more to be grateful for.  For all of us, friends, family and the greater community, his passing is a profound loss.

If you are still reading at this point, you probably are dreading the perfunctory thank-you paragraph.  But there was nothing perfunctory about Burt's gratitude to the proverbial "village" that helped him along the way.  He especially wanted to thank the staff at OCSRI — valet, technicians, schedulers, doctors, nurses — whose efficiency and compassion made all the difference.  The nurses at Saint John's infusion center were another bright spot in his last weeks, with their big hearts and tremendous skill.  And, at the very end, the staff of Franks Family Home Care and Miller Hospice eased the burden for Burt and all who loved him.

Burt was preceded in death by his parents, Dan P. Sr. and Alice, by his brother Dan P. Jr., and by his daughter, Jennifer Lea Holmes.  He is survived by his sweetheart, Mary Lee Townsend, as well as four children, Jeff and Lori Holmes of Tulsa, Julia Holmes Angé of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Janice and Bill Chevaillier of Tulsa, and Joan and Culver Stedman of Houston.  Grandchildren are Heather and Josh Gower, Betsy and Brad Brown, Leslie Elaine, Alexandre and Lindsay Angé, Conner Chevaillier, Mathilde Chevaillier, Leigh and Gus Kerin, Culver Stedman II, and Andrew Stedman.  He is also survived by his sister-in-law Jeanne Holmes and his brother Victor M. Holmes and wife Kathryn; as well as five great-grandchildren.

Burt did not want a funeral service.  The family will commemorate his life and share memories in a private event.  In lieu of flowers Burt would have appreciated a donation to the Tulsa Botanic Garden, the John 3:16 Mission, the ACLU, or any charity of your choice.