On Monday morning, 16th of March, 2020, Ola Mae Farmer went home to be with her Lord and Savior. She was preceded in death by her father and mother Vivian and Evie Mae Middlebrooks, her two brothers Quinton (Berta Lou) and Gene (Marie) Middlebrooks, her sister Inez (Charles) Collins, her son John Sanders and her daughter-in-law Margaret Sanders. Ola Mae’s legacy includes 4 sons – David (Betty Ann) Sanders, Marving (Lucia) Farmer, Page (Allison) Farmer and Joseph Farmer – 11 grandchildren (Denise, JoAnn, Brandon, Aaron, Matt, Rachel, Sarah, Benjamin, Christian, Jacob, Robin), and 2 great-great-grandchildren. With faith in God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit central to her life, her desire was and is for her children and their legacy to stay close to God and trust in Him.
Born on the 5th of January, 1930 in Perry County, Alabama, Ola Mae graduated from Perry County High School in 1947, from the Alabama College for Women, now the University of Montevallo, in 1950 (BA) and 1958 (MA), from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (MHRM), in 1975. She went on to teach at Robinson Elementary in Birmingham. After moving to Gadsden, Ola Mae taught at the Darden Rehabilitation Center for more than 25 years where she rose to be the Director of the Center. Ola Mae was a pioneer in the field of rehabilitation in the greater Gadsden/Anniston/Fort Payne area and in the State of Alabama. Society membership included the Easter Seals (of which she was the Etowah County director for 39 years), March of Dimes, Alabama Society of Crippled Children and Adults, Pilot International, the United Ostomy Society and many others. In 2002 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Governor’s Committee Awards Ceremony hosted by the Greater Etowah Committee of Employment of People with Disabilities. Ola Mae was a long time and faithful member of Calvary Baptist Church in Gadsden, teaching Sunday School over 50 years.
Due to current public health concerns, a private family service will be held at Collier-Butler Funeral Home in Gadsden followed by internment at Mount Ivah Bible Methodist Church and Cemetery in Perry County, Alabama. Services will be conducted by Brother Darrell Brown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Calvary Baptist Church, Easter Seals of Etowah County, or the Mount Ivah Cemetary Fund.
The family would like to express its appreciation to all doctors, nurses, and staff involved in her care, especially those of the Gadsden Regional CCU unit, and 7th floor south, Amedisys Home Health, and Amedisys Hospice.
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