Remembering Andy Holmes

Friends of the late Los Gatos resident Andy Holmes dedicated a memorial bench at Bachman Park Saturday in honor of their longtime neighbor and dog lover.

Among those present during the informal ceremony were Holmes' relatives, neighbors and longtime Los Gatos resident Ira Spector, his wife Los Gatos Vice Mayor Barbara Spector and their dog Joey.

Ira Spector said Holmes was one of the many local residents who gathered at the picturesque downtown neighborhood park with their dogs for the past 30 years. 

Before Holmes died in 2011, Ira Spector said he spent a lot of time talking to Holmes because they were the same age, were in high-tech in the late '70s and early '80s and knew the same people who helped make Silicon Valley what it is today.

They also had something in common—Holmes’ dog, Cesar, and Joey, were friends, too.

The bench is dedicated to Holmes, whom the group declared as “The Mayor of Bachman Park,”  Ira Spector said.

The group also enjoyed Champagne and lots of food.

"This is what happens when the community gets together to honor the people who have made Los Gatos such a wonderful place to live," Ira Spector said, adding that he had met Holmes a year ago when he visited the park with Joey.

Before dinnertime, Joey and Ira Spector walk or jog from their house near Old Town, up Bachman Avenue and through the park.

"Andy and I shared a common interest in the genesis of Silicon Valley and a common interest in dogs, and we chatted constantly," he recalled.

"He was having a problem with his legs but still managed to walk from his home nearby and take two large dogs with him to socialize at the park with his neighbors," he said.

Sadly, Holmes' condition worsened and he and one of his two dogs died around the same time, Ira Spector said.

"We (friends and neighbors) miss him. He was 'Mr. Congeniality,' always smiling and always telling stories and jokes in spite of his worsening medical condition," Ira Spector added.