State Elder Olivia Wallace

stAte elder oliviA wAllAce obituAry

Olivia May Wallace, born Olivia May Bryant on November

15, 1937, to the late Jordan and Olivia Bryant in Cottage

Grove Maryland. She had four brothers all deceased, Jordan

Jr., Charles, John and Kenard. She had a stepsister, 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. Unfortunately, her union with Theodore did not last.

After her divorce, Olivia relocated to Holyoke,

Massachusetts, 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 three children eventually moved

into an apartment in Springfield, Massachusetts where she

lived until 1972. Though she initially hesitated to join a

church, an unexpected moment led her to accept faith and

become 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. When

asked if she wanted to be saved, she meant to say "No," but

what came out of her mouth was "Yes." She received the

Holy Ghost that day.

On April 29, 1972, Olivia married Bobby Wallace,

expanding their blended family with more children: James,

Ronald (deceased), Kevin, Eugenia, Darryl, and Alethea.

Bobby and Olivia moved to Washington, D.C., in 1973,

where Olivia was a resolute worker for the DC Government,

starting as a secretary for the National Labor Relations

Board and eventually becoming a Legal Administrative

Assistant in the Mayor's Office. She served the D.C.

Government for 25 years before retiring.

God called Olivia to preach the gospel in 1984. On February

26, 1984, she preached her trial sermon. Later, as an

ordained minister, she was appointed Assistant Pastor

joining her husband Bobby Wallace who was already

serving as Pastor of The House of God Church in

Washington, DC. Olivia served many roles in her church.

Throughout her life, Olivia exemplified strength, faith, and

commitment to God first, her family, and her church.

After both had retired, Olivia and Bobby moved to

Hazlehurst, Georgia in 2009 and continued working in their

local House of God Church in Hazelhurst until Olivia

became ill. Bobby became her primary care giver and took

care of her night and day until she passed in her sleep on

Monday, October 14, 2024.

She leaves to mourn, her loving husband Bobby, her

daughters Cynthia (Ron), Gina and Alethea and her

daughter-in-law, Latice Moore Hammond, sons, Jordan,

Kevin, and Darryl. Olivia had so many who called her mom:

Joanne Green, Ida Chiquita Hines, Samantha Tucker (her

Boozie), Wanda Wilson, Nita Potts, and so many others.

Those who considered her to be a sister: Deborah O'Connor,

Shelah Norman, Eartha Sessions, and Barbara Tyner. Many

grandchildren (by blood and some not by blood who called

her grandma), nieces and nephews, friends, church family

and friends