Mills-Martin Family Records - Person Sheet
Mills-Martin Family Records - Person Sheet
NameMary Louise MARTIN 
BaptismPomona, Los Angeles, California
Death10 Feb 2001, Salem, Marion, Oregon [2976, date only], [3155, date only], [6045] Age: 89
ResidenceSalem, Oregon [2976]
FlagsMayflower Descendant
FatherElias Charles MARTIN (1869-1940)
MotherAnna Green PARKER (1874-1957)
Individual Notes
• Received letter dated 17 Jun 1995. Letter transcribed in Correspondence database.
• Received Christmas card, December 1995.
• Received Christmas card, December 1996; enclosed photo of Martin Axford and family. “Except for two events this has been a standard year: First I celebrated my 85th birthday. Then at Thanksgiving my grandson, Michael, and his wife Janine were able to be here from Austin. A real family get-to-gather.”
• In my last note I wondered how we are related to the Nettletons. I must have been far out in left field because I know perfectly well how we are related, however, what I was really wondering about is the relationship of the twins Luther and Lucius to us. They are the sons of James Nettleton. I remember them coming to visit my grandparents in Pomona. I also remember visiting Aunt Bell in Rockford, Illinois the summer I was nine years old. Cousin Dewitt and his grandchildren were there also. Cousin Riley chased me around the house to spank me. When we ran through the kitchen a “lean to” table was knocked down, along with a set of Haviland china. I have never forgotten that incident!
My arthritis has finally made it impossible for me to write. My special and dear friend is doing this honor for me.
Affectionately,
Mary [1294]
• Well what about Grandma Mary? She just keeps going along. She’s a tough old bird. Other than being blind and crippled up she is in great shape. [3155, p 4]
• Well, the final entry is complete on this chapter. It’s amazing how much history passes with a person. She was the last living link to the Martin brothers and what remaining oral history of Pomona there was. [3155, pp 1 & 2]
• Mother passed over Feb. 10 to a Fairer Land. I have appreciated the fond reminiscences and statements of affection for her that have been sent. Arthritis is a slow and wasting disease. She fought it well. But it wears down the spirit as well as the body. Perhaps the most insidious thing is the view that if we can’t do something worthwhile of our own will and choosing, we are worthless and life is meaningless. To those of you still young and healthy enough so it doesn’t sound like a patroninzing sop, that isn’t true. To be sure, if I were as crippled up and in as much pain as she, I would be happy to go home at the first opportunity.
But meaning in life goes beyond convenience and choice. What she meant to Duncan while he grew old enough to remember her can’t be measured. She continued to teach how to do love by the need to care for her. Learning such virtues are the eternal things. We teach both by providing opportunity for practice as well as by instruction.
Who would have thought that she, of all people, would finally have stepped onto the political stage in the last month of her life as a “Poster Child” for in-home publicly funded health care? That meant a lot to her. In the last 20 hours of her life when she was in the Nursing Home, she was given a new career by the head of nursing. The career? Acting. She was a ham and always wanted to act on the stage. She was to play the part of the grouchy patient so the nursing trainees could learn how to cope with the real thing. She relished the thought. It was a miracle. In the last month of ther life her “Sunday School Faith” returned and she again found meaning in life. By the last day, she was fully alive again. She was the person you remember. [3167]
• Received Christmas card, December 1995.
• Received Christmas card, December 1996; enclosed photo of Martin Axford and family. “Except for two events this has been a standard year: First I celebrated my 85th birthday. Then at Thanksgiving my grandson, Michael, and his wife Janine were able to be here from Austin. A real family get-to-gather.”
• In my last note I wondered how we are related to the Nettletons. I must have been far out in left field because I know perfectly well how we are related, however, what I was really wondering about is the relationship of the twins Luther and Lucius to us. They are the sons of James Nettleton. I remember them coming to visit my grandparents in Pomona. I also remember visiting Aunt Bell in Rockford, Illinois the summer I was nine years old. Cousin Dewitt and his grandchildren were there also. Cousin Riley chased me around the house to spank me. When we ran through the kitchen a “lean to” table was knocked down, along with a set of Haviland china. I have never forgotten that incident!
My arthritis has finally made it impossible for me to write. My special and dear friend is doing this honor for me.
Affectionately,
Mary [1294]
• Well what about Grandma Mary? She just keeps going along. She’s a tough old bird. Other than being blind and crippled up she is in great shape. [3155, p 4]
• Well, the final entry is complete on this chapter. It’s amazing how much history passes with a person. She was the last living link to the Martin brothers and what remaining oral history of Pomona there was. [3155, pp 1 & 2]
• Mother passed over Feb. 10 to a Fairer Land. I have appreciated the fond reminiscences and statements of affection for her that have been sent. Arthritis is a slow and wasting disease. She fought it well. But it wears down the spirit as well as the body. Perhaps the most insidious thing is the view that if we can’t do something worthwhile of our own will and choosing, we are worthless and life is meaningless. To those of you still young and healthy enough so it doesn’t sound like a patroninzing sop, that isn’t true. To be sure, if I were as crippled up and in as much pain as she, I would be happy to go home at the first opportunity.
But meaning in life goes beyond convenience and choice. What she meant to Duncan while he grew old enough to remember her can’t be measured. She continued to teach how to do love by the need to care for her. Learning such virtues are the eternal things. We teach both by providing opportunity for practice as well as by instruction.
Who would have thought that she, of all people, would finally have stepped onto the political stage in the last month of her life as a “Poster Child” for in-home publicly funded health care? That meant a lot to her. In the last 20 hours of her life when she was in the Nursing Home, she was given a new career by the head of nursing. The career? Acting. She was a ham and always wanted to act on the stage. She was to play the part of the grouchy patient so the nursing trainees could learn how to cope with the real thing. She relished the thought. It was a miracle. In the last month of ther life her “Sunday School Faith” returned and she again found meaning in life. By the last day, she was fully alive again. She was the person you remember. [3167]
Census
• 1920 Census: La Verne, Los Angeles, California. Age 8, b CA. Parents b IL. [6048]
• 1930 Census: San Jose Twp., Los Angeles, California. Age 18, b CA. Parents b IL. [3637]
• 1930 Census: San Jose Twp., Los Angeles, California. Age 18, b CA. Parents b IL. [3637]
Spouses
Birth28 Apr 1912, Castlewood, Hamlin, South Dakota [448]
Death10 Dec 1986, Salem, Marion, Oregon [443] Age: 74
Burial15 Dec 1986, Salem, Marion, Oregon [443, place only]
FatherAllin AXFORD (1872-1947)
MotherMary Edna MARKHAM (1884-1946)
Census
• 1930 Census: Castlewood, Hamlin, South Dakota. Age 17, b SD. Father b Canada; mother b SD. [5370]
Marriage31 Oct 1943, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California [445]
ChildrenMary Ann (1946-1984)
(Private, Male)