Ollie Faye Baldwin, a longtime Oakland Park resident who survived a wicked hurricane in the 1940s, died early Wednesday at St. John's Rehabilitation Hospital/Health Care Center in Lauderdale Lakes. She was 97.
Mrs. Baldwin, who went by the nickname ``Polly,'' was born on Aug. 22, 1899, in Rockingham, N.C. She moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1943 and lived in Oakland Park the past 23 years.
She and her husband, the late Warren Baldwin, built their first home _ south of downtown off Andrews Avenue _ completely by hand.
Their painstaking work on the wood-frame house proved to be life saving. A hurricane swept through Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s and tore the roof of their neighbor's home. Their roof stood.
``Warren told her to come and get in the fireplace because it was sturdy,'' said Mrs. Baldwin's granddaughter, Chris Allen, an editorial assistant for the Sun-Sentinel. ``That's where they rode out the storm. She was always deathly afraid of storms because of that hurricane.''
Mrs. Baldwin was a homemaker who worked briefly as a waitress. She was also a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church.
Her daughter, Mildred America, served as head librarian for the Fort Lauderdale News in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Mrs. Baldwin is survived by two daughters: Mrs. America, of Fort Lauderdale, and Evelyn Harsell, of Oakland Park; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday at Fairchild Funeral Home, 299 N. Federal Highway. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 499 NW 27 Ave.
Mrs. Baldwin, who went by the nickname ``Polly,'' was born on Aug. 22, 1899, in Rockingham, N.C. She moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1943 and lived in Oakland Park the past 23 years.
She and her husband, the late Warren Baldwin, built their first home _ south of downtown off Andrews Avenue _ completely by hand.
Their painstaking work on the wood-frame house proved to be life saving. A hurricane swept through Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s and tore the roof of their neighbor's home. Their roof stood.
``Warren told her to come and get in the fireplace because it was sturdy,'' said Mrs. Baldwin's granddaughter, Chris Allen, an editorial assistant for the Sun-Sentinel. ``That's where they rode out the storm. She was always deathly afraid of storms because of that hurricane.''
Mrs. Baldwin was a homemaker who worked briefly as a waitress. She was also a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church.
Her daughter, Mildred America, served as head librarian for the Fort Lauderdale News in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Mrs. Baldwin is survived by two daughters: Mrs. America, of Fort Lauderdale, and Evelyn Harsell, of Oakland Park; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday at Fairchild Funeral Home, 299 N. Federal Highway. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 499 NW 27 Ave.
Ollie Faye Baldwin, a longtime Oakland Park resident who survived a wicked hurricane in the 1940s, died early Wednesday at St. John's Rehabilitation Hospital/Health Care Center in Lauderdale Lakes. She was 97.
Mrs. Baldwin, who went by the nickname ``Polly,'' was born on Aug. 22, 1899, in Rockingham, N.C. She moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1943 and lived in Oakland Park the past 23 years.
She and her husband, the late Warren Baldwin, built their first home _ south of downtown off Andrews Avenue _ completely by hand.
Their painstaking work on the wood-frame house proved to be life saving. A hurricane swept through Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s and tore the roof of their neighbor's home. Their roof stood.
``Warren told her to come and get in the fireplace because it was sturdy,'' said Mrs. Baldwin's granddaughter, Chris Allen, an editorial assistant for the Sun-Sentinel. ``That's where they rode out the storm. She was always deathly afraid of storms because of that hurricane.''
Mrs. Baldwin was a homemaker who worked briefly as a waitress. She was also a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church.
Her daughter, Mildred America, served as head librarian for the Fort Lauderdale News in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Mrs. Baldwin is survived by two daughters: Mrs. America, of Fort Lauderdale, and Evelyn Harsell, of Oakland Park; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday at Fairchild Funeral Home, 299 N. Federal Highway. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 499 NW 27 Ave.
Mrs. Baldwin, who went by the nickname ``Polly,'' was born on Aug. 22, 1899, in Rockingham, N.C. She moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1943 and lived in Oakland Park the past 23 years.
She and her husband, the late Warren Baldwin, built their first home _ south of downtown off Andrews Avenue _ completely by hand.
Their painstaking work on the wood-frame house proved to be life saving. A hurricane swept through Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s and tore the roof of their neighbor's home. Their roof stood.
``Warren told her to come and get in the fireplace because it was sturdy,'' said Mrs. Baldwin's granddaughter, Chris Allen, an editorial assistant for the Sun-Sentinel. ``That's where they rode out the storm. She was always deathly afraid of storms because of that hurricane.''
Mrs. Baldwin was a homemaker who worked briefly as a waitress. She was also a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church.
Her daughter, Mildred America, served as head librarian for the Fort Lauderdale News in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Mrs. Baldwin is survived by two daughters: Mrs. America, of Fort Lauderdale, and Evelyn Harsell, of Oakland Park; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday at Fairchild Funeral Home, 299 N. Federal Highway. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 499 NW 27 Ave.
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