On July 22, just before midnight, Olivia went home to be with her Lord. She often said the Lord told her to write her memoir, and when it was finished, He'd take her home.  She published Beyond the Brokenness in January and knew she would soon see her Lord face to face.

Her Obituary

Olivia Faye Teja, 81, passed away July 22, 2025, at her home. She was born April 16, 1944, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and lived a life marked by creativity, care for others, and steady faith. Olivia was married for 47 yers to her husband, Paul, with whom she shared many years of ministry in Oklahoma, Virginia, and Vermont. She is survived by her three children: Reggie Ayers of Edmond, OK; Janeen (Bill) Ayers of Chittenden, VT; and Randy (Yordanos) Ayers  of Vienna, Austria. Her grandchildren are Dylan of Chesapeake, VA; Maison, Matthew, and Mali of Edmond, OK; and Michael and Paul of Vienna, Austria. She was preceded in death by her grandson, Skyler Ayers.

Olivia worked for many years as a hairstylist in Oklahoma Ciity before transitioning to Virginia Beach, VA, where she led the hair and makeup department at the Christian Broadcasting Network. Her work supported programs like The 700 Club, the Pat Robertson presidential campaign, the soap opera Another Life, and various filming locations around the world. She also contributed to productions for ABC AfterSchool Specials and Colonial Williamsburg.

Alongside her husband, Olivia served in church ministry roles at Pennsylvania Avenue Christian Church in Oklahoma City, OK, Christian Embassy International Church in Chesapeake, VA, and Roadside Chapel Assembly of God in Rutland, VT. 

After purchasiing The Vermont Inn in 2014, she and Paul moved to Vermont in 2015. Olivia enjoyed applique quilting and received several awards for her work. She was also a contributor to The Saturday Evening Post and published her memoir, Beyond the Brokenness, in 2025. Her interests included personal ministry, quilting, and spending time with her family.

She was preceded in death by her father, Virgil Anderson; her mother, Leta Faye Wilkins; and her brothers Claude Anderson and Jake Anderson.

Excerpt 

It was a Wednesday evening, the air thick with an unspoken weight, as Thirl unleashed his scorn on me and my eldest son. His condemnation, sharper and more relentless than ever. Each cruel word a reminder of our perceived failings. A steady drip of his disappointment seeped into our

hearts, eroding whatever fragments of hope for a loving family remained.

The suffocating grip of his domination had tightened, The only semblance of purpose he clung to was tending to his hidden crops of marijuana on the riverbank and fishing alone in his own world, excluding us. He had stripped us of our dignity, trapped in an ongoing nightmare with no

escape in sight.

He now loomed over me like a shadow of dread, threatening my life if I dared to leave. Reggie, the eldest, was the only child Thirl would allow to remain. I sent my other two away to their father, a temporary refuge while I wrestled with what my marriage had become, a secret I couldn't share with anyone. Not even my own family. They couldn't see the man behind the façade-the creature who had reduced me to a silent victim. If I

revealed the depths of my torment, I would be compelled to act, and the thought paralyzed me with fear.

That night, I fled outside, tears streaming down my cheeks as I cried out to God in desperation. "I can't go through this any longer; please, I need your help!" I concealed my sorrow among the leaves, for Thirl had made it clear he would not tolerate any weakness. His wrathful behavior no longer surprised us; it had become a disturbing rhythm in our home, but this time, his cruelty appeared sharper, more suffocating.