Ophelia Holmes

Her life

Ophelia Holmes, 71, of Canton, Mississippi, was born on December 16, 1954, in Yazoo County, Mississippi, to Mary Alice Holmes and Wayon “Mook” Collins.

She was a woman of deep faith who answered the call to ministry and served as head pastor of a church in Jackson. For decades, she worked behind the scenes of health care in Jackson. She handled medical billing at many of the area’s hospitals and clinics, kept birth certificate records, and later worked as an interventionist with a Mississippi nonprofit devoted to improving care.

Few people knew her as a comedian. But she named her son Janerick, a name he has to spell and explain to every person he meets. Then, sometime in his thirties, she just started calling him Jay.

Ophelia was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Alice Holmes and Wayon “Mook” Collins; her brothers, Jessie James Collins and Wilbert Collins; and her stepfather, Eddie Donelson.

She leaves to cherish her loving memories: her son, Janerick Holmes; her grandchildren, Alyssa, Kiyana, and Xavier “Zay,” with their mother, Angel; her sisters, Aszeleana Collins, Betty “Cookie” Collins, Denise Woodard, Gladys Collins, Marcella Collins, Margie Holmes, Patsy Tennon, and Velmon Collins; her brothers, Darnell Collins, Henry Holmes, and Wayon “W.C.” Collins, Jr.; her aunt, Dorothy Collins-King; her cousin, Curtis Phillips; and a host of other relatives and friends.