Obituary of Sallie Virginia Hatcher

On Saturday, September 25, 2010, at Johnston Willis Hospital God called one of his angels, Sallie Virginia Hatcher, home to rest. Sallie, affectionately known as Ma or Ma Sallie, was born November 30, 1930 on Long Island, New York. Sallie moved to Powhatan, Virginia at an early age attending Powhatan County Public schools. She accepted Jesus Chris at an early age and joined the Little Zion Baptist Church attending faithfully until moving to Cumberland, then she shared her church attendance with the Mount Olive Baptist Church until her health began to decline. On January 2, 1954 Sallie married Archer Hatcher, this union blessed them with four children. One son (Louis) preceded them in death. Once moving to Cumberland in 1960, to rear her family, she found employment at Cumberland Restaurant; later that year Cumberland County Public Schools hired her as a bus driver and cafeteria worker. She drove the school bus for thirty-six years and worked in the cafeteria for thirty-four years,. managing the high school cafeteria for twenty-three of the thirty-four years. Sallie has and always will be known for two things; her love of children and her cooking. While rearing her family she sometimes had as many as eleven children in her home at one time from her extended family. During her children's school years the house was always filled with the fun and laughter of their many classmates. She would feed everyone and then go with them to support the school activity of the moment, be it basketball, football, baseball or whatever. Her love of children came into focus again in 1996 after one her students was struck by a car as he was crossing route 60 to board her bus while family members looked on. She almost gave up her job, but decided instead to become an advocate for school bus safety hoping that no other family would have to endure what she and that family did on that awful day. In January of 1997 as a bus driver for Cumberland County Public schools, she asked the members of the state Senate's Transportation Committee to consider tougher civil fines for motorists passing a stopped bus. With legislation proposed, the bill passed, she and that student's family was present as then Governor George Allen signed the bill into law. Cooking has always been one of her favorite hobbies; she loved cooking for the school basketball and football teams, county organizations including the Ruritan Club, and churches in the community. She would also prepare homecoming dinners for Mount Olive and other churches in the surrounding area, sometimes surprising the Mount Olive's trustees and others with lunch during their "Beautification Day" cleanup. Sallie participated in various community activities including being an honorary member of the Cumberland Ruritan Club and achieved status as pass Worthy Matron of White Orchid Chapter #182 OES. Those who remain here to continue her loving and nurturing path are three of her children, Elsie, Charles (Velma) and Barbara Hatcher; six grandchildren, Michelle, Deidra, Romanda, Sher-ron, Vernita, and Garrison; eight great grandchildren, Brittney, Bryce, Christopher, D'ara, Garrison II, Alicia, Genice, and Ryan. She opened her heart and home to many children, her extended children are Angela Booker, Alfreda Hatcher, and Will and Anthony Robinson; aunts, one devoted Bertha Gray (Alfred), nieces, one devoted, Joyce Hatcher and family; nephews, cousins and friends, three devoted, Stella Bryant, Carol Jean Harris, good girl friend and telephone buddy, Evelyn Harper and her trusted companion and guard dog Max.