Grace Turner Oliver

Grace Turner Oliver was born on July 28, 1928, to Thomas Patience and Dump (Gill) Turner in Mount Vernon, Texas.   She passed away from this life on February 18, 2024, in Abilene, Texas. Grace came as an infant by train to Hamlin and then to the Neinda and other small nearby communities before the family settled in Hamlin. 

Grace took pride in life in Hamlin and graduated earlier than the rest of her class at Hamlin High School in 1945. Afterwards she worked at local businesses, (including Reynolds Drug Store and Southwestern Bell Telephone), where she met Burt Oliver. They were married on January 7, 1949, in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Her great joys were family life, her children’s achievements, and participation in her community.  Grace and Burt were class parents for both of their children and traveled to most, if not all, school class activities. With her entrepreneurial and sociable spirit, she owned and thrived operating the Lady Bug Flower and Gift Shop for many years. Later in life, Grace was crowned Hamlin High School Coming Home Queen. She was an active member of the Hamlin and Ruidoso Church of Christ.   Grace was an enthusiastic volunteer at the Hamlin and Ruidoso hospitals during their retirement in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Volunteering to help others was one of Grace’s great passions, acquiring a four-thousand-hour service pin serving as a Pink Lady.   Grace returned to Texas and lived in Abilene, Texas for the past few years. She passed with loving family by her side.

Grace was preceded in death by her husband Burt Oliver.  

Grace is survived by her daughter, Reta Grace Oliver and her husband, Steve Rogers of Anson, TX;  and her son, Thomas Lynn Oliver and his family in Washington, DC.