Profile: Verma Lee Fobbs, LVN/Licensed First Assistant
The town of Chillicothe, Texas, flourished after the Fort Worth Denver Rail reached the community. Located on the rolling plains of Texas, it had sprung up around a creek and a ranch established in 1870.
Fields of cotton and grain surrounded the town. Verma was born there, one of thirteen children and raised by a single mother. By this time, the Railroad had become less used, and the population had declined. Verma remembers her earliest job was picking cotton.
She also remembers suffering from asthma as a young child, possibly caused by the dusty days at that job, which went away as she became a teenager. Verma was sent to a Church located next to her home at a young age. Later, she attended a Baptist Church. She became a member of that church and was baptised.
Verma married Joe Fobbs when she was young and did not finish high school. She was blessed with six children and raised five. As she grew older, her husband encouraged her to go to nursing school. She knew she would need to get a General Educational Development (GED) certificate to do that. At that time, Verma was driving 16 miles, back and forth, to Wrights Packing Co. in Vernon, Texas, to work.
There, she found out that a teacher was coming to Chillicothe to teach GED classes. That teacher was Rhonda (Cagle) Ramsey, who grew up in Olney, Texas, but now resides near Oklaunion, Texas.
Verma was unaware that Rhonda’s biological dad, who graduated from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, was killed in a plane crash in 1958 while serving as a Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force in Alaska. He and a group of other Chaplains were flying from Alaska to the Aleutian Islands to hold Christmas services on the 22nd of December. The bodies were never recovered. Rhonda was five years old. Rhonda’s mother brought her children back to her hometown of Olney and joined First Baptist Church. Rhonda would become a member there. Rhonda is now a Mom to three sons and eight grandsons. She is a member of the Calvary Baptist Church, Vernon, Texas. Verma was very impressed with the kind and encouraging ways of her teacher as she started her GED classes, and she inquired as to where Rhonda was from. Rhonda explained that she grew up in Olney, Texas. Verma told her husband, Joe, that they should move to Olney. They did, bringing their determination with them, along with their large and lovely family. Verma worked at Haggar Slacks and Olney Nursing Home for a while. Joe found work at an out-of-town construction company and at the Aluminium Plant, now known as Tower Extrusions.
Verma found work as an aide at Olney Hamilton Hospital while she worked at attaining her GED. Thus began Verma’s career in the medical field. When she attained her GED, she quit that job and went to Hamilton Hospital LVN school in 1979-1980. The school was established by George B. Hamilton in 1959. Many women achieved their licenses at this school, which closed in 1986. Verma and her family joined Rising Star Baptist when they moved to Olney. It was there that Verma was instrumental in starting the March for Jesus parade.
The March continues to this day and has grown larger each year. Then Joe found work at First Baptist and they soon joined that fellowship. Verma was a member of the chancel choir, has served on various committees and continues to teach a Sunday School Class. She considers serving Her Lord and Savior a priority in her life. When Joe and Verma joined the First Baptist Church, the Pastor was Cliff Sims. He and the Church fellowship were very supportive of the March as were the following pastors, Kelly Russel and Chad Edgington. Several other Church Fellowships have been supportive also.
Verma became a Licensed Vocational Nurse after finishing the school requirements. She went to work as a Scrub Tech and later was tested and became a licensed first assistant surgical nurse.
This position gave Verma thought to when she was affected by the sight of blood after a younger sister was injured by a broken glass, causing a cut and bleeding. Verma’s determination and faith gave her perseverance. She has worked at Hamilton Hospital for 41 years. She has worked under 24 doctors, many familiar to Olneyites, including Meredith, R.E. Lovett, Robert Lovett, Twila Lovett, Wright, Morris, Jackson, Fazel, Hoover, Hossain, Kruchner, Mankins, Taylor, Munoz, Buxie, Johnson, Purdy, Vandiver, Stanley, Santos, Axline, Agarwal, Wanamaker and Horner.
Joe passed away in 2020 and is missed by the Church fellowship but he left a large and wonderful family behind who also miss him. Verma says that by the grace of GOD she will have the privilege of working in the new Hamilton Hospital, which is the longest continually operating rural hospital in the state of Texas. Verma says that meeting Rhonda (Cagle) Ramsey was God-ordained and led her and to Hamilton Hospital and Olney, Texas.
Verma says, “Glory be to GOD.”