Carrie Bell Farley

Carrie Bell Stewart Farley was born on February 6, 1929, in Indianola, Mississippi, to sharecroppers Georgia Nash and Jimmy Stewart. As the oldest of six daughters, she helped care for her sisters and other children while their family worked in the cotton fields.

From an early age, Carrie valued education. She attended a one-room schoolhouse through the seventh grade, where older students helped teach younger ones. It was there that she discovered her lifelong passion for teaching. Known as "proper talking Carrie," she was admired for her eloquence, poetry, and public speaking in church and debate competitions.

After her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, Carrie married Rev. Aldrie Lee Farley, a respected pastor, community leader, President of the United States Steelworkers Union, AFL-CIO, and 33° Scottish Rite Mason. The family later relocated to Watts and then Compton, California where they raised six children. Following her husband's passing in 1968, Carrie courageously raised her children as a single mother while pursuing higher education.

Over the next decade, she earned an Associate of Arts degree from Compton College, a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Black Studies, and her teaching credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She later completed graduate coursework in Counselor Education at San José State University. Carrie devoted over 35 years to teaching in Southern and Northern California before retiring from Evergreen School District.

Retirement marked the beginning of another chapter as she embraced acting with Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble, where she became affectionately known as "Big Mama." She also studied West African drumming with Jaliya, Inc., under the direction of Dr. David Piper, and performed with Akoma Arts, Tabia, and other cultural organizations, sharing her gifts as a storyteller and poet.

In 1990, Carrie authored and copyrighted two original poems, "Dr. King Was a King" and "I am the Drum." She also dreamed of writing a memoir titled Big Mama's Journey from the Cotton Fields of Mississippi to the Classrooms of the Promised Land. She also found joy in life’s simple pleasures such as fishing and camping under the stars with her family.

In 2017, she was recognized as one of the event’s honored award recipients at Tabia Theatre’s Girlfriend’s Appreciation Day. When asked what advice she would give young people, she simply said, “Keep on pushing.”

Carrie was a devoted mother, grandmother, educator, actress, poet, drummer, mentor, and beloved family matriarch. She was blessed with seven children and was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Rev. Aldrie L. Farley, and her sons Gregory Charles Farley and Kelvin Farley. She leaves behind her children Aldrie (Pamela), Mark (Mary), Naomi (Eugene deceased), Georgette (Eddie deceased), and Stephane, along with 22 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

On June 29, 2026, at the age of 97, God peacefully called Carrie home surrounded by her family. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she often reminded others, "I will hold you in my prayers and heart until I can hold you in my arms." Her faith, kindness, wisdom, and unwavering love will continue to inspire all who were blessed to know her.