- Date Of Birth: July 6, 1914
- Date Of Death: February 28, 2016
- State: Illinois
Mary L. Farmer, 101, of Jacksonville, IL departed this earthly world to be with her heavenly family on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at Heritage Health in Jacksonville. She was born July 6, 1914, in Morgan County, the daughter of Earl and Lillie H. McNeal Farmer. Mary worked alongside her father on the farm and often referred to herself and her sister, Ruby, as “Dad’s boys”. The girls had a milk route where they collected milk cans in the back of their old pickup truck. She had a special love of animals, especially horses, and often spoke of their team “Felix and LuLu”. In addition, she had a special love of family and friends demonstrated through raising the Collins’s children of Waverly.
She is survived by a sister, Kay Preston, (deceased husband, Glenn) of Jacksonville; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and cousins.
She was preceded in death by four brothers, Earl E. Farmer (deceased wife, Ruby), Raymond, Robert, and John A. Farmer (surviving wife, Bettie of Jacksonville); five sisters, Onita Covey (deceased husband, Jess), Mildred Wood Griffeth, Ruby Stewart (deceased husband, Bill), Faye Woods (deceased husband, Pete), and Frances Stephenson (deceased husband, Wendell); and a brother and sister in infancy.
Upon receiving her diploma from Waverly Schools, Mary attended Beauty Culture School and in 1957, opened Mary’s Beauty Shop in Waverly. For 30 years, Mary tended to her shop dressed in a white starched uniform with spiked red heels until a bicycle accident forced her to sell her shop and move to Jacksonville. There she became a second grandmother to the Hungerford children, noted for taking the children fishing or on travel adventures. During the 1970s, Mary was employed by JAARC to care for their residents. She was an avid walker well into her 90s. In December of 2012, Mary moved to Heritage Health in Jacksonville.
As a child, Mary attended Hebron Church in Sinclair and was baptized in 1985 at the Woodson Christian Church. More recently, she attended Central Christian Church and Lynnville Christian Church. She was a dedicated volunteer with the Elliott State Bank Dress-A-Doll program for many years. She was also a former member of the Waverly Genealogical & Historical Society, Jacksonville Women of the Moose, and the Waverly American Legion Auxiliary.
