Sue Whitmire Farmer was born at home in Pickens in 1945. She attended several grammar schools because her father, who was a sharecropper, moved his family to wherever he could farm. Sue graduated from Pickens High School in 1963. She attended Greenville Technical College, where she took secretary courses.

Sue met her husband, William Thad Farmer, known as Bill by some, at Roanoke Baptist Church. They were married in 1966. They have three children — two boys and one girl. They have 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They are expecting two more great-grandchildren in a few months.

When Sue and Thad married, he was in the Navy, stationed at Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, Fla. Three months later, Thad was shipped to Vietnam, where he served for seven and a half months. Sue stayed in Florida and got a job at The Beaches Leader newspaper.

Carol Baker/Courier

Formerly the owner of The Doll Closet in Easley, Sue Farmer has a new store at Dalton Flats between Pickens and Easley.

Thad was discharged from the Navy in 1969. He and Sue moved back to Thad’s home in Seneca. They lived there for five years before moving to Pickens, where they built a house on the Whitmire farm. Thad was a pastor, and he also worked for Duke Energy. He was moved to several states. Sue said that by moving around she got to meet a lot of nice and friendly people and learned a lot.

Sue has had various jobs. She has worked at the Pickens County Credit Bureau, the Liberty Monitor, an accounting firm in Easley, the Kendall Company in Seneca and in the payroll department at Libco.

Sue learned to play the piano at a very early age. She played the piano at most of the churches where Thad pastored. She also taught Sunday school and directed the children’s choir. She is a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley.

Sue opened her first shop, The Doll Closet, in 1982. It was located on U.S. Highway 123 in Easley. She closed the shop in 1987.

In 1991 they moved to Virginia, and Thad worked for the Department of Energy in Washington, DC.

In 1999, Sue opened The Doll Closet for a second time. It was located on East Main Street in Easley. She closed it in 2004 and moved to Kentucky.

She is back in Pickens now and has opened a new shop, Suzie Cute Dolls and Collectables, located in the Dalton Flats shopping center between Pickens and Easley. The shop is stocked with a huge variety of dolls and toys.

Easley resident Carol Baker highlights interesting local residents and helps us get to know more about the fascinating people who call Pickens County home. If you have someone somewhere who you think people should know about, contact us at news@thepccourier.com.