The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
82-year-old’s hats, wardrobe for virtual church attract following
Retired educator decks herself out on Sundays to delight of others.
It’s been more than a year now that churchgoers have been watching virtual streaming Sunday services on their cellphones and computers during the pandemic. Many have made a habit of tuning in while wearing cozy sweatpants or pajamas.
Then there’s La Verne Ford Wimberly of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 82-year-old retired educator decks herself out head to toe every Sunday, then — to the delight of fellow parishioners at Metropolitan Baptist Church — posts a selfie on Facebook after the service.
Since March 29, 2020, she has taken photos of herself from her living room in 53 color-coordinated outfits – each one carefully selected from the burgeoning closets, jewelry boxes and neatly stacked hat boxes that have satisfied her love of making a grand entrance since she was a young schoolteacher in the 1960s.
“If anyone is feeling downtrodden, they just look at her [Facebook] page and immediately feel uplifted,” said Robin Watkins, 54, the church’s executive office assistant. “Her heart is as beautiful as each outfit she has shared with us.”
Parishioners often call Wimberly “Doctor.” She has a PH.D. in education and the years she spent as a school principal and superintendent after she’d moved on from teaching, Watkins said.
She was already known at her church for the head-turning outfits she wore every Sunday, so when the pandemic hit last year and in-person services were canceled, Wimberly decided to up her game.
When she learned last year that Metropolitan’s service would be streamed on March 29 due to the coronavirus threat, “I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, I can’t sit here looking slouchy in my robe.’ I didn’t want to sit around alone and feel sorry for myself, so I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to dress up anyway.’”
Wimberly got up early to style her hair and put on some lipstick, then she slipped into a favorite white dress trimmed with eyelet, a sheer white ruffled hat, matching shoes and a beaded turquoise and gold necklace.
After she posted the photo and a Bible scripture for her friends, she was inundated with positive responses, she said.
She soon decided to write down what she wore each week on a calendar so that she wouldn’t commit the faux pas of wearing the same outfit twice.
“It’s safe to say that 50 is a good number for the hats,” she confessed. “But the clothes? I’d better not go there. Let’s just say I’m now refusing to look at any catalogs.”