Laura Frances Holt Farmin
Laura Frances Holt Farmin, a lifelong resident of Pine Bluff, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, February 27th at Baptist Village in Little Rock at the age of 95. She was the daughter of Charles Arthur Holt and Laura Gladys Faucett Holt and the granddaughter of Charles Sea Faucett and Laura McShan Faucett. Mr. Faucett owned and operated the Faucett Dairies on Faucett Road for many years.
Mrs. Farmin was employed by Southwestern Bell in their Pine Bluff and Little Rock offices for 41 years. In 1970 she became the first female switch person hired by Southwestern Bell, a five state operating company of AT&T. A switch person maintains and repairs the Panel Machine Switching System which is a type of automatic telephone exchange for urban service that was used in the Bell System for seven decades. Securing this position was accomplished with great determination and courage. Although only five feet tall, she took on the management of the world’s largest corporation and broke a male glass ceiling 53 years ago. Due to her efforts, which took over a year, other women followed in her footsteps and also became switch persons throughout Southwestern Bell. When she arrived in Dallas in 1970 to begin her training she was the only woman among 46 men. Interestingly enough, her fellow male switch persons in training, welcomed her and supported her throughout her training.
Throughout this difficult period, she was supported daily by her mother, Laura Gladys Faucett Holt who was a constant source of encouragement.
In 1984, Mrs. Farmin married Harry E. Farmin, of Pine Bluff. After 26 years of a most happy and companionable marriage, he passed away in 2011. Mrs. Farmin was predeceased by her older brothers Charles Arthur Holt, Jr., and Jack Larimore Holt, both of whom were ministers in the Church of Christ and nephew Mark Larimore Holt. Mrs. Farmin was a member of the Hazel Street Church of Christ. She is survived by her nephews, Stephen Wesley Holt (Sharon) of Kimberton, Pa., Tony Holt of Chattanooga, Tenn., niece Julie Ann Holt Bowers (Bill, MD) of Athens, Tenn., niece Elizabeth Dianne Holt, great- niece Alicia Elizabeth Mills (Dave) of Bremen, Ga., great-nephew Matthew Wesley Holt, Esq. (the honorable Lauren Holt, Judge) of Paoli, Pa., and a stepson, Mitchell A. Farmin (Jerri) of Bryant, Ark.
Mrs. Farmin was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution being a direct descendant of Lieutenant John Tarrant of the Virginia Militia who fought for America’s independence during the Revolutionary War. She was also a direct descendant of Mathias Holt, who came to Virginia in 1717 from Germany to co-found the oldest continuously operating Lutheran Church in America, located in Hebron, Va.
Visitation will be held on Friday, March 3rd between 5-6:30 p.m., at Ralph Robinson and Son funeral home at 807 S. Cherry St. in Pine Bluff, Ark. A private service and interment will be at Graceland Cemetery in Pine Bluff.