Linda Farmer
senior administrative assistant, WSU Post Office, Aministration and Finance
Linda Farmer has two reasons to love Wichita State: She spent her entire career working
here, and it’s where she found the love of her life.
After earning a degree in education from WSU, she was employed at the university
for seven years part-time and 40 years full-time from 1963 to 2010. While working
as a student assistant in Central Services, Linda met a young man, Vernon Farmer,
who came in the office every day as a student custodian.
“We became very good friends,” said Linda. “I would find notes that he would leave
me to find the next day in my printing press. After three years of chasing him, I
married my best friend at the WSU chapel.”
In August, the Farmers celebrated their 40th anniversary. Also in August, Farmer
received a 40-year service award pin from Gov. Mark Parkinson in Topeka.
While at WSU, Farmer served as a supervisor and manager for Central Services for
14 years, before transferring to the WSU Post Office as a senior administrative assistant
until retiring.
“I loved my jobs,” said Farmer. “It was fun to come to work. Some of my best friends
I met at WSU. We worked together, played together, went to all kinds of sports events,
aerobics, club meetings and dinners. I still keep in touch with friends I met 47 years
ago.”
Some of her best friends at WSU were Kent Mardock, who was manager of Central Services;
Ginger Cox, who was manager of the Post Office; and Dot McNicol of Campus MinistrY.
She served in a variety of campus organizations — as secretary and treasurer for
the Kansas Association of Public Employees and secretary for the women’s organizations
Serving Higher Education and the Council of University Women.
In 1996, she received a President’s Distinguished Service Award.
When Farmer started working in the campus Post Office, everything was done by hand.
“Each piece of mail was weighed individually and sorted by weight with the correct
postage being run on a metering machine,” she said. “Sorting mail took around six
or seven hours a day. We had to work weekends to process bulk mail.”
“Today, the post office has automated equipment, new technology and is run very professionally.
You couldn't ask for a better place to work.”
In retirement, Farmer plans to spend a lot of time with her family, traveling, volunteering
and cruising around with her husband in their new red Corvette convertible.
“Going to WSU was the best decision I ever made,” she said.