By Dr. Patricia Fulmer
Dr. Fulmer and her husband live in South Huntsville. Dr. Fulmer is the proud owner of Legacy Vision Center and Mark helps lead the design team of the Next Generation Interceptor at Lockheed Martin.
They are thoroughly invested in the South Huntsville community.
Tell us about your background, where you are from. Tell us about your husbands, job,
and education and where he is from.
My name is Dr. Patricia Fulmer, and I am the proud owner of Legacy Vision Center in south Huntsville. I was born in Huntsville, but I grew up in Albertville and then Gadsden where I was valedictorian of the 2003 class at Westbrook Christian School before attending the University of Alabama for undergrad. While at UA, I had the unique opportunity to work as part of the recruiting squad for the UA football team under coaches Saban and Shula, as well as study abroad in both Oxford, England, and Florence, Italy. After graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Art History, a concentration in pre-medical studies, and as member of the University Honor’s Program and University International Honors Program, I joined the 2012 graduating class at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry.
Following optometry school, I completed an ocular disease and primary care residency at the Thomas E. Creek VA in Amarillo, TX and made my way back to Huntsville to serve as the Center Director of VisionAmerica of Huntsville. I was given the opportunity there to care for many complex patient cases and hone the skills that help me to strive to be the best private practice doctor that I can be today. After four years with VisionAmerica, I joined a group practice and then made the exciting decision to open my own private practice in south Huntsville in 2020.
Outside of work, I am happily married to my husband, Mark Livesey. We live in south Huntsville with our fur babies, Baxter and Ares. Baxter is a short-haired tuxedo cat, and Ares is a long-haired black lab. Mark is from Langhorne, PA, which is located just outside of Philadelphia. After graduating from Neshaminy High School and then completing his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and master’s degree in Mechanical Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University, Mark was offered a job at Boeing in Huntsville, relocating him to the South in 2012.
While with Boeing, he was an integral part of programs such as the core and upper stages of the SLS rocket, the 777 aircraft, and Presidential aircraft, before joining the Lockheed Martin team in 2019. Mark currently helps lead the design team of the Next Generation Interceptor that Lockheed is creating. Mark never expected to become a long-term Southern resident, but after 11 years in Huntsville, he is happy to call the South home. We married in January 2019.
How did you and your husband meet? What is your best memory together?
Mark and I met through a blind date of sorts and had a blast during our first date at Pints and Pixels on the square. After enjoying some dinner, drinks, and games, we explored and played downtown and ended the night with a late-night bite. We’ve been together ever since.
Our best memory is probably one of the days of our honeymoon. After spending time in Jamaica, we had moved to Cancun, Mexico for Crash My Playa, a country concert series we love attending each year. We started the day with a couples’ spa experience and brunch, then relaxed in our room’s swim up pool. That night, Thomas Rhett headlined the beach concert. His song, “Die a Happy Man” was our wedding song, and we were able to listen to him play it live standing in the sand about 10 feet from the stage.
Tell us about your educational journey. How did you come to choose optometry? Why did you start Legacy Vision Center?
When I went to college, I knew that I wanted to be in some version of the medical field, though I was unsure in which arena. As most undergraduates do, I flip flopped some during my first two years, but I knew ultimately that a medical career was where I was meant to be. I started researching the different specialties and shadowing different doctors. Eventually, I observed my childhood optometrist, and I was hooked. I loved the idea of being able to specialize in one area but still treat the entire body as so many ocular conditions tie back to systemic health; I loved that I could set my own hours and practice modality which would allow for a home life that I desired down the road; and I loved that I would be able to make a difference in the lives of people of all ages.
During optometry school, I discovered that I had a desire to own my own office one day. I wanted to be able to treat people the way I knew they deserved to be treated and to offer specialty services that I was interested in without hinderance, goals that would be harder to achieve in corporate or private equity settings. Additionally, the entrepreneurial spirit was in my blood as my parents and brother had each owned businesses, so following that path made sense to me. After getting my feet under me in my profession through residency, VisionAmerica, and my first private practice, I decided it was time to follow my dream and start an office cold. In 2020, with the full support of my husband and family, I launched Legacy Vision Center where I could provide community-focused, medically-driven eye care in a welcoming, boutique atmosphere.
Tell us about hobbies, volunteer work that you and your husband are
involved with.
Mark and I enjoy outdoor activities like kayaking on the Flint and Elk Rivers and hiking the local trails. We also love trying new restaurants, trivia nights, and traveling. One of our favorite hobbies is concert going. We often couple trips with concerts and try to see artists from many genres.
Both of us are animal lovers who would have a new rescue every day if we could. Since that isn’t possible, we try to help animal rescues through time or donations when we can. I also serve as the Optometry Director for HEALS, Inc. which aids underprivileged children in our community by helping them get the healthcare they deserve.
If you could pick 3 people to have dinner with, who would they be and why?
If I could pick three people to have dinner with, they would be:
My dad- my dad passed away in late 2019, so I would love to be able to have one more dinner with him.
Jesus- it would be amazing to experience his love and wisdom firsthand on Earth
Leonardo Da Vinci- the Renaissance is my favorite period in art history, and as someone who enjoys both art and science, I think it would be fascinating to learn how Da Vinci came up with so many ideas in his time.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading the business book The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. I highly recommend it for any current entrepreneur or anyone considering starting a business. Great insight!
If your family had a motto what would it be?
Make memories with those you love today; everything else will be there tomorrow.
South Huntsville Neighbors 