Glendon LaVerne Farmer, 91, passed peacefully from this life on Aug. 27, 2017. He was born June 2, 1926, the eighth of nine children of Mattie Ann Elizabeth Heffington Farmer and Dennis Sherman Farmer in Havana, Arkansas. A graduate of Bigelow High School, he served the Army in the Pacific during World War II and the occupation of Japan. He graduated from Harding College in 1949 and served stateside during the Korean Conflict. Farmer received his Master of Education from Peabody College and the Doctor of Education from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
After teaching in the Williford, Arkansas school district, he married the love of his life, Geraldine Lydia Holloway, in 1954. Together they taught in the Bragg City, Missouri school system until 1965 and then moved to Knoxville for graduate work. After graduate school, he served as business manager of the Florence, Alabama city schools and for 15 years served as superintendent. After his retirement, the Farmers relocated to Conway, Arkansas.
Dr. Farmer’s roots in the poverty of the Great Depression informed every endeavor. He lived a life of contentment and gratitude never ceasing to marvel at feats of engineering that keeps our lives convenient and our communities functioning. Having witnessed the inequities of education during the Jim Crow era in Arkansas, he found himself responsible for implementing the desegregation of the Florence City schools. He believed deeply that it was important work and provided a steady hand to the district, navigating community concerns and opposition by meeting with parent groups for months to guarantee a transparent, successful process.
He was a lifelong learner and a curious student of the world. He memorized long passages of poetry, devoured books from every genre–always reading with pen in hand, leaving margin notes in shorthand–and engaged in systematic studies of such topics as the American Civil War, Middle Eastern history, and the ministry of the apostle Paul. He committed to memory the countries, capitals, mountain ranges and rivers of the world, and never missed a National Geographic online quiz.
He steadfastly trusted Christ for his salvation and together with his life’s love, Geraldine, they “did justice, loved mercy, and walked humbly with God.” Together they were content in all circumstances.
Dr. Farmer is survived by one beloved sister, Eloise Hayre, of Dallas, Texas; three children, Sherry Tipps-Holder (Barry), of Conway, Arkansas, Patti Farmer Summers (Dan), of Searcy, Arkansas, and John Glenn Farmer (Stephanie), of Seattle, Washington; seven grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter. He was preceded in death by seven siblings.
Visitation will be at Robinson and Center Church of Christ in Conway Thursday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m. Services will follow at 2 p.m.
An online guestbook is available at rollerfuneralhomes.com/conway.
