Martha Ann was born April 18, 1937. Thelma was 42 and Martha was her 9th child. Martha nearly died at a young age and had seizures subsequently. She never was diagnosed but had limited mental capacity throughout her life. Thelma and Walter sent her to a facility in St. Louis that would have helped her learn to speak better but when they visited her, she didn’t know who Walter was so he brought her home with him. They didn’t expect her to live past her twenties but because of the love and support she had, she lived until she was 76. She lived with Walter until he had to move to a nursing
home. She then moved into a resident home which took care of individuals with her disabilities. The home took her to a place that gave her a job during the day and kept her very active. She loved to collect dolls, post cards and she thought all dogs were named “Happy.” She was a happy individual and although limited in vocabulary, made her delights in her siblings known. She was embraced throughout her life in love and kindness in her church and the whole town of Dexter, MO. Martha had the capacity to be happy wherever she was.
She passed away peacefully in February 2013 in Dexter, MO.
