Habitat-Roanoke Founder, Olivia LaMotte, Dies at age 91.

Olivia Ann Bishop LaMotte started life in Greenville, Florida during the Great Depression. She was four years old and had two little brothers when her father died. Her mother, Rosa Galphin Bishop, was a schoolteacher. They could see the ground through the floorboards of the small house her father had built.

Her high school graduating class had seventeen people. She had barely been out of Florida when, at age seventeen, she rode the Greyhound bus by herself to Montreat for college.

She and John LaMotte fell in love while working as summer staff at Assembly Inn. That love lasted through her last breath 73 years later.

Olivia was God’s faithful servant, moving with John to Oceana (WV), Richmond, France, Chatham, Switzerland, the Congo, Norfolk, Sarasota, Roanoke, Wake Forest, Black Mountain and Swannanoa. She volunteered with many organizations focused on alleviating suffering, among them Meals on Wheels and TRUST (shelter/hotline in Roanoke). In the 1970s she served on the Presbyterian General Assembly’s Committee on Women’s Concerns and was twice elected Chair of the Florida Synod Council. She served 25 years as a Guardian ad Litem (court advocate for children) in Asheville. A devoted peace activist, she created a panel for an 18-mile-long anti-nuclear war ribbon and traveled to Washington, DC to help wrap it around the Pentagon and nearby monuments. In Black Mountain, Olivia volunteered in the Kiwanis Thrift Shop where she enjoyed creating seasonal window displays.

Having volunteered in Immokalee, FL in Habitat for Humanity’s very early days, she was providentially positioned a few years later when a tragedy in Roanoke revealed the need for decent housing there. She served as the founding director of that Habitat affiliate for six years, working tirelessly to build strong relationships with churches, governments, donors and volunteers. It was a source of her great joy to see that organization continue to flourish. It has now provided homes for nearly 300 families. Another delight was in meeting Jimmy Carter through that work. A house being built to honor her will be dedicated August 23, 2025.

She gave life to four children. She loved her family (born and otherwise) and friends, keeping up with us all as long as she was able. She leaves her beloved husband, the Rev. Dr. John Hunter LaMotte, Sr., and their children: Kathy LaMotte (Eric) and their sons Michael (Stephanie) and Nick (Serine); John LaMotte and his son Matthew (Kayla) and their children, Katarina, Donovan, and Nadia; Margaret LaMotte Torrence (Lee) and their children Nate (Luiza) and baby Theo, and Olivia’s only granddaughter, Hanna; and David LaMotte (Deanna) and their son Mason. A sprawling extended family and a lifetime of good friends will miss her compassion, kindness, wisdom, courage and delightfully mischievous wit.

After two debilitating bouts with kidney infection and a developing dementia Olivia died peacefully in her sleep at home the night of May 22-23, 2025. Her family is grateful for the kind and competent assistance of Four Seasons Hospice caregivers.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, June 8 at 2:00 o’clock at Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church. We are hoping to reserve the parking spaces immediately surrounding the chapel for those who have limited mobility. All are encouraged to carpool, and we hope that able-bodied friends will park elsewhere on campus and make the short walk to the chapel. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Habitat, your faith community, or any organization dedicated to lifting up God’s people in need.