Whelchel, Larma
WHELCHEL (Ford), Dr. Larma Jean
Services for Dr. Larma Jean Whelchel are 12:00 PM Saturday, June 4, 2022 at Trinity CME Church, 22571 GA Hwy 16, Sparta, GA.
Larma Jean Miller was born on March 19, 1939, in Moultrie, Georgia, where she was raised by her parents Lucille and Quincy Miller. She attended Paine College in Augusta, GA, where she met her future husband. At Paine she received the honor being crowned Miss Paine in 1961, was a majorette in the marching band, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in that same year.
In 1963, she was married to L.H. Whelchel, Jr. who was then an itinerant minister with the C.M.E. Church. Larma and her husband had four children and raised a family together beginning in Birmingham, Alabama before moving to Durham, NC, Dayton, OH and Los Angeles, CA.
In 1986, Larma received the Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from United Theological Seminary, and in 1997 Dr. Ford-Whelchel received the Doctor of Arts degree from Clark Atlanta University. Her dissertation entitled The Implication of Aging, Health Status and Survival Strategies Among Older Black Women in One Large and One Small Urban Population in Georgia became one of the most frequently referenced research studies in the topic area. She would later serve as Adjunct Professor of Humanities at Atlanta Metropolitan College and Clark Atlanta University.
Dr. Ford-Whelchel had a passion for educating young children. She was a devoted teacher, conscientious administrator, and she was respected for her skills as an early childhood educational leader. She served as the director of Head Start programs and early childhood centers in Durham, NC, Los Angeles, CA and Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Ford-Whelchel enjoyed telling stories about how her students came to learn and experience new things. Throughout her career Dr. Ford-Whelchel could often be found in her off-hours creating new lessons or trying out innovative educational resources that she would use with her students. Many of her pre-school students excelled and went on to skip grades once they started grade school.
Dr. Ford Whelchel was predeceased by her husband, Dr. L.H. Whelchel, Jr. She is survived by her five grown children, April, Kenyatta, Noel, (Quanda); and grandson Love IV. The final sunset of this life for Dr. Ford Whelchel occurred on May 31st, 2022.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Hutchings Funeral Home, Inc.
536 New Street
Macon, GA
31201
