Neosho, Mo. -- Pediatrician Dr. Ernest Holmes is retiring from medicine after 42 years with 26 of those years devoted to Freeman Health System in Neosho.

“It’s a big number,” Dr. Holmes said, smiling. “When you add it up you go, ‘Has it been that long?’”

Even larger – too large to accurately pinpoint – is the number of children from Newton and Jasper counties Dr. Holmes has treated and healed over the decades. In fact, he’s been at it for so long, the children he once treated in his office are now adults with children whom Dr. Holmes sees as patients.

“Oh yeah, I’m seeing that happening,” Dr. Holmes said.

While Thursday, August 29, marked his last day at Freeman, he has a sneaking suspicion his days of seeing sick children – asking them to open wide and say “Ah!” or dispensing vast medical knowledge to worried adults – won’t be ending anytime soon.

“I have nine grandchildren (from three daughters), so they’ll keep me busy,” Dr. Holmes said, chuckling. “But I’ve been doing this job for so long now that it becomes your identity – being a doctor and taking care of people. When you’ve been doing that for so long, it’s hard to change.”

A Dallas native and the son of a doctor who retired at age 75, Dr. Holmes graduated from the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine in 1982. He spent his residency at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas before moving on to practice pediatrics in Harlingen, Texas, for 13 years. During the summer of 1998, he moved his family north to Southwest Missouri.

Neosho “is right where I wanted to be,” he said.

The 68-year-old chose pediatrics for one simple reason – his deep love for children.

“I enjoy the science and I enjoy the work, and in pediatrics in particular I enjoy taking care of kids more than I do adults,” he said, flashing his trademark sense of humor. “The big thing about kids is that they can get sick really quick but they get well really quick. Occasionally, you’ll have one who has chronic problems, but most of the kids we take care of are healthy.”

While Dr. Holmes looks forward to seeing his grandchildren play fall and spring sports, like football and soccer, he’s going to miss the men and women who made his day-to-day life at work run so smoothly.

“Part of what makes what I do so enjoyable are the people who help me,” he said. “They do a great job, and if they’re not doing their job and doing it well, then I can’t do mine.”

Renee Denton, Chief Operating Officer at Freeman Neosho Hospital, said Dr. Holmes will be deeply missed by his patients and colleagues.

“Dr. Holmes has our utmost respect and gratitude for his many years of devoted service to the children in our communities,” she said.

Dr. Holmes agreed.

“I’ll miss my patients the most, of course. The one thing I won’t miss is I always worry about my patients – there’s always one or two that you think, ‘Did I do this or that right?’ That part of the job I won’t miss. I’ll be able to relax.”