The gates of Heaven have opened up and called home Thelma Joyce Eidson Farmer, 91, of Tifton, Georgia, (formerly of Ocilla). She passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 8, 2022 at Southern Oaks Personal Care Home, in Tifton, Georgia. She had lived in Tifton for the past 8 ½ years, but considered Ocilla as her home.
Funeral services will be held 11 AM, Monday, December 12, 2022, at The Ocilla Baptist Church, with the Rev. Billy Stephens, the Rev. Robert Couey and the Rev. Sonny Stroud officiating. Interment will follow in the Brushy Creek Cemetery, in Irwin County, Georgia. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the services in the sanctuary of the church.
Mrs. Farmer was born November 30, 1931, in Turner County, Georgia, to the late Clarence & Eunice Eidson. She graduated from Irwin County High School in 1950. Following graduation, she married William Ernest “W.E.” Farmer and they made their home in Ocilla. She was a homemaker and co-owner and operator of their family business, Farmer’s Welding Shop.
Mrs. Farmer was a long-time member of the Ocilla Baptist Church and was faithful over the years as part of being a Sunday School teacher, WMU, Bereavement Committee, and the Martha-Gleaners Sunday School class. She was affectionately known as Mother, Granny and Gee Gee. Her family was always very important to her, and even though Alzheimer’s had taken control of her mind, and Parkinson’s her body, she still knew and asked about them frequently.
She is survived by her two daughters and a son-in-law: Sherry Harper of Tifton and Esther Payne & Bruce of Tifton; grandchildren: Bryan Payne of Tifton and Bridgett Payne Stroud & Chip of Jacksonville, Florida; great-grandchildren, Bryson Payne, Lauren and McKenzie Stroud; the remaining siblings: Audrey Rogers of Atlanta, and Margaret Garrett of Marietta; and a brother-in-law, Jerry & Carolyn Farmer of Carrollton. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, W.E. Farmer; son-in-law, Russell Harper; and nine of her siblings.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to Ocilla Baptist Church, P.O. Box 101, Ocilla, GA 31774 or to the Alzheimers Association, South Georgia Service Area, 2402 North Tift Avenue, Suite 102, Tifton, GA 31794 or to the donor's favorite charity.