Last week the farm movement lost a leader and caretaker who can never be replaced. Mona Lee Brock of Madill, Oklahoma, was a school teacher and principal before she became a farm crisis counselor in the 1980s after she and her husband lost their farm during the Farm Crisis. As a suicide counselor, Mona Lee saved the lives of countless farmers who felt they had lost everything, working right through her retirement when called upon. Her courage and kindness knew no bounds. Willie Nelson called her “the angel on the end of the line.” Willie and Mona Lee were dear friends; as The Washington Post noted in their tribute, Mona Lee once said, “As far as I’m concerned, there’s only two kinds of heroes — farmers and Willie Nelson.”

Sharing Our Memories

Friends and colleagues have been sending tributes to us like this one: “She lived a life full of service to the nation’s farmers and ranchers and those who never knew her personally can thank her for being our soul and spirit in these journeys.”

If you had the immense honor to know Mona Lee, please share your memories with us by sending us an email at hello@farmaid.org.

Willie Nelson honors Farm Advocate Mona Lee Brock at Farm Aid 30 in Chicago, IL, in 2015.

Learn more about Mona Lee Brock

The Washington Post published a moving tribute to Mona Lee Brock and her work. 

Hear Mona Lee share her story in Farm Aid’s documentary film Homeplace Under Fire:

As Farm Aid’s executive director Carolyn Mugar has put it, “Farm Aid’s hotline would not be what it is today without the leadership and example of Mona Lee. We miss her deeply, but her inspiration lives on in the work of Farm Aid and everyone who works to strengthen and support family farmers.”

Carolyn Mugar and Mona Lee Brock