Martha Martin

Martha Martin, 93 of Denver, passed away on February 18, 2014. Soon after Martha was born in Douglas, Arizona, August 25, 1920, the Carroll and Eileen Groton Family returned to their home in El Tigre, and soon moved to Nacozari, then to Pilares, all copper mining towns located in the State of Sonora, Mexico. Her father, Carroll, worked for the Phelps Dodge Corporation as manager of the company general stores adjacent to their copper mines. Brother William was born in Pilares in 1927. As a result of the Great Depression and the price of copper plummeting, the Phelps Dodge Corporation was forced to close the Pilares mine in 1931. The family moved back to the United States, briefly to Douglas, Arizona, and then on to Hot Springs (currently named Truth or Consequences), New Mexico, to manage a grocery store and meat market. Brother William died of pneumonia in 1935 during the dust storms that ravaged the area. Martha was always a good student. She attended a one-room school house in Pilares with six to ten other youngsters. It was quite an adjustment for her to briefly move into the sizable school with ""crowded"" classrooms in Douglas and then on to the elementary school in Hot Springs. She graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1937, attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, with a major in Home Economics in 1941. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. Lewis Martin, also a student at the University of New Mexico, and Martha were married in Albuquerque on May 25, 1942. A fine competitive golfer, Lewis worked as the course superintendent at the University 9-hole golf course. Daughter, Margaret Sue, was born September 11, 1943. In 1944, the family moved to St. Clairsville, Ohio, Lewis's home town, to enable Lewis to pursue the Martin family's farming and coal interests there. Martha resided in St. Clairsville for 55 years until 1999, when she moved to Park Place, Denver, Colorado. Lewis and Martha were members of the Belmont Hills Country Club near St. Clairsville. Although not a competitive golfer herself, like Lewis and daughter Maggie, she was continually around the game and became heavily involved in the organization and administration of golf tournaments at the club, state and national levels. She was instrumental in Belmont Hills Country Club hosting two Women's Ohio State Golf Association Championships. She served on the Women's Ohio State Golf Association Executive Board as Deputy Director from 1971 to 1981. Martha was a volunteer for the United States Golf Association from 1968 to 1999, serving on the Girls' Junior Championship Committee, Women's Committee, Public Golf Committee and the Senior Women's Championship Committee. During this time, she was chairman of the USGA Women's Amateur Public Links Championship Committee and was instrumental in organizing the USGA Women's Regional Affairs Committee. In 1995, she was awarded the Ike Grainger Award by USGA Vice-President Judy Bell in appreciation for 25 years of dedicated service to the USGA. In 1954, Martha became a member of the Tuesday Night Club, a prestigious literary club started in 1897 in St. Clairsville. She embraced and was enamored with her small mid-western hometown. As a member of the Gardner's Forum, she researched and interviewed people regarding several of the town's historic residences and businesses, which resulted in a paper she wrote entitled ""A Walk Along Main Street in St. Clairsville"". Martha was an active member of the Thoburn Memorial Methodist Church, which included serving as the President of the Cambridge District of the Women's Society of Christian Service. The Lewis Martin Family later joined Giffin Park Church, a non-denominational, independent, Christ-based church. A trip to the Holy Land in 1966 with others from Giffin Park Church was a highlight of Lewis' and Martha's life. Both were baptized during this trip in the Jordan River. Martha was currently a member of the Crosspoint Community Church, Lone Tree, Colorado. Martha is survived by her daughter, Margaret ""Maggie"" (William) Giesenhagen, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; sister-in-law, Pauline (John) Erickson, Overland Park, Kansas; three nieces: Lew Erickson, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Kelly (Joseph) Armes, Dallas, Texas; Kim (David) Abbott, Columbia, South Carolina; two step grandsons; six step great grandchildren; and one step great great grandson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis McNeely Martin (1995) and her brother, William Groton (1935). A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014, 11:00 AM, at Beck-Altmeyer Funeral Home, 204 W. Main St., St. Clairsville, OH. Interment will follow at St. Clairsville Union Cemetery. A Memorial Service will be held Thursday, March 6, 2014, 2:00 PM, at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 5303 E. County Line Rd., Centennial, CO. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be sent to the following: Crosspoint Community Church 88 Inverness Circle East, Suite A-210 Englewood, CO 80112 Halcyon Hospice PO Box 177 Mead, CO 80542 Malpai Borderlands Group 6226 Geronimo Trail Road P.O. Drawer 3536 Douglas, AZ 85608 Please share your memories of Martha and condolences with her family by signing the guestbook below.