Mrs. Olivia May Wallace, 86
Services for Mrs. Olivia May Wallace, 86, were held Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. at Bennett Tabernacle Holiness Church. Burial followed in Hazlehurst Memorial Cemetery.
Mrs. Wallace was born Nov. 15, 1937, to the late Jordan and Olivia Bryant in Cottage Grove, Md. She had four brothers all deceased, Jordan Jr., Charles, John and Kenard. She had a step-sister, also deceased, Deborah Oliver. She graduated from Greenwood High School in the early 1950s and married Theodore M. Hammond in 1957, with whom she had three children, Theodore Lamar (deceased), Jordan Anthony, and Cynthia Ann. After her divorce, Olivia relocated to Holyoke, Mass., with her brother Kenard (Sug) Bryant and his family, where she juggled three jobs to support her children. During this time, she formed a close bond with an elderly couple, Mom, and Pop Green, who helped care for her children. Olivia and her children moved to Springfield, Mass., where she lived until 1972. she became a member of The House of God, which is The Church of The Living God, The Pillar and Ground of The Truth Without Controversy, Inc. Keith Dominion. On April 29, 1972, Olivia married Bobby Wallace, expanding their family with children, James, Ronald (deceased), Kevin, Eugenia, Darryl, and Alethea. Bobby and Olivia moved to Washington, D.C., in 1973, where Olivia worked for the D.C. Government, starting as a secretary for the National Labor Relations Board and becoming a Legal Administrative Assistant in the Mayor’s Office. She served the D.C. Government for 25 years before retiring. On Feb. 26, 1984, she preached her trial sermon. Later, as an ordained minister, she was appointed Assistant Pastor joining her husband Bobby Wallace as pastor of The House of God Church in Washington, D.C. Olivia exemplified strength, faith, and commitment to God first, her family, and her church. Olivia and Bobby moved to Hazlehurst in 2009 and continued working in their local House of God Church until Olivia became ill.
Survivors include her husband Bobby; daughters Cynthia (Ron), Gina and Alethea; and daughter-in-law Latice Moore Hammond; sons Jordan, Kevin, and Darryl; many who called her mom Joanne Green, Ida Chiquita Hines, Samantha Tucker (her Boozie), Wanda Wilson, Nita Potts, and many others; those who considered her a sister Deborah O’Connor, Shelah Norman, Eartha Sessions, and Barbara Tyner; many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, friends, church family.
King Brothers Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Hazlehurst was in charge. www.kingbrothersfh.com
