Lillian J. Holmes, 81, of Hackensack lived a full life before a hit-run driver killed her

The funeral for Lilian J. Holmes will be held on Monday at the G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home on Union Street in Hackensack.  (This image was provided by the funeral home). 

Victim was crossing street;

damaged BMW X-5 SUV

fled scene on Polifly Road

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Lillian J. Holmes was known affectionately by her family as Polly.

She was the first of seven children born to Junior and Juanita Walker in Osierfield, Ga., and in 1944, the family moved to Westchester County, N.Y.

After graduating from Yonkers High School, she began working at a hardware store there as a customer service representative. 

Lillian Walker married her high school sweetheart, Quentin "Butch" Hicks, and they had two daughters, Ruth and Lillian.

Years later, she met Zabdail Holmes. They eventually married (in 1982), and moved to Hackensack. 

She lived on Beech Street at the time of her death.

Love of bowling

The couple shared their love of bowling together in leagues, and Lillian served on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey State Bowling Association from 2010 to her death on March 4.

Holmes, 81, was crossing a darkened Polifly Road, between Sutton and Marvin avenues, when she was struck by a late model black 2013 or 2014 BMW X-5 SUV. 

The driver fled and remains at lodge, but a second driver whose vehicle also hit Holmes stayed on the scene, police said.

There are no painted crosswalks or traffic lights on or near those blocks of Polifly Road.

Holmes was going to the CVS Pharmacy on Polifly Road to pick up a prescription, family members told NorthJersey.com.

Family tributes

"She could turn a bad event into something good because of her smile," family members said in an obituary published by the G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home, where her funeral will begin on Monday.

"She enjoyed life and always brought a smile to those around her. She also loved going out to eat with friends and family.

"She had an uncanny ability to find happiness wherever she went because of her loving and pleasant personality.

"Our beloved sister, mother, aunt, godmother and friend may have had her life taken, but this is heaven's gain.

"Her laughter, loving heart and joyful spirit have left a beacon of light for all who knew her."

'Didn't deserve to die'

"She didn't deserve to die like this," a niece said on social media after investigators posted an image of a black BMW X-5 like the one that hit and killed Holmes.

"My heart is aching for the family," Ginger Thompson commented on Facebook. "It was very scary to see the aftermath of the accident."

A black BMW X-5 SUV like the one that killed Lillian J. Holmes, 81, on March 4, 2021, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. Investigators are looking for a 2013 or 2014 model with damage to the left (driver's) side and front of the vehicle.