Ola Mae Brown was born in Hillsboro, Texas to Lawyer Berry Brown and Ethel (Garrett) Brown on April 10, 1929. She was the oldest of four children born to this union and later oldest to a total of nine brothers and sisters. She received her early education in the Hillsboro school system before moving to Dallas at the age of twelve with her paternal aunt Frankie Mulkey. She was always known for her brilliant mind and did well as a student in her new environment. Ola Mae graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1947, one of only two schools for Negro children in the Dallas Public School system.
After graduating from high school, the young Ola Mae matriculated to Bishop College in Marshall, Texas. It was on this campus where she met her life love Wardell Hunter, who at the time, was the star quarterback of the school football team. The lifelong friends they met while at Bishop endearingly called them “Cupcake” and “Rump”, nicknames that would stick for many years to come. During her time at Bishop, Ola was again known as an efficacious student and was also a cheerleader and a member of the Homecoming Court.
Ola and Wardell married in February of 1950 and their young family grew with the birth of four beautiful daughters – Ruby Janell, Virgie O’Nell, Barbara Nell, and Johnnie Yvette. She was heavily involved in the community as she raised funds for the March of Dimes, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the local YWCA. She also served as a board member for the school PTA and Band Parents. She graduated from Bishop with a bachelor’s degree in Religion and also later earned a master’s degree in Education from Prairie View A&M University.
Ola Hunter began her career as educator at a small day care center in South Dallas. She taught several grades in the Wilmer-Hutchins ISD before being hired to teach in Dallas ISD in 1969. She thrived as a history teacher at Sarah Zumwalt, L.V. Stockard, and later at E.H. Cary middle schools. She retired the same year as her beloved husband in the spring of 1989.
Sis. Ola Hunter’s work ethic was rooted in her Christian upbringing and her love of church and God. As a teenager, she was named a delegate to the National Baptist Convention where she was afforded the opportunity to travel around the country and to Canada. She dedicated her life to the Lord at a very young age and continued as a life-long servant in the church as a Sunday School Teacher, organizer of the Mission II auxiliary, a Youth for Christ sponsor, and coordinator of Vacation Bible School programs. She gracefully used all of these talents and skills when she became First Lady of Olive Grove Baptist Church which organized in 1986.
Sis. Hunter was preceded in death by her husband Rev. Wardell Hunter. She leaves a legacy of love, commitment to family, and dedication to Christ with her daughters Ruby Hunter Brown, Virgie Hunter, Barbara (Richard) Alaman, and Johnnie (Everett) Wines; cousin Tanya Winters (Eddie) Harris; seven grand-children; eight great-grandchildren; two brothers and five sisters; and many colleagues, church members, neighbors, family, and friends.
