Carolyn Lou Martin

Carolyn Lou Martin received her call Home to Glory on Friday, August 20, 2021, after 94 years of life. She was born on the family farm in Seminole County, Oklahoma near Little in 1927. She arrived a month after Charles Lindburgh completed the first solo trans-Atlantic flight. While growing up on the farm she watched the waving wheat and helped her mother cultivate a bountiful garden. When her father purchased a gasoline powered washing machine she marveled at it. While World War II was still raging she graduated from Prairie Valley and went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. as an operator kindly asking “number please”. During her over 40 year career, she witnessed the growth of modern telecommunications. One fine day she met a handsome, clever and fun-loving man named Ed Martin. While they were dating, Ed somehow managed to crash his small plane into a cow pasture on Carolyn’s parents’ farm. No lasting damage was done and they were married on April 23, 1949. They were blessed with 66 years of marriage until Ed’s death in 2015. The Great Alaskan Adventure began in 1966 when they left Oklahoma and moved to Anchorage, Alaska where Ed and his brother started a plumbing and heating company. They later returned to Oklahoma where Carolyn resumed her career while Ed pursued opportunities in the Last Frontier. Following retirement Carolyn’s favorite pass times were gardening, traveling and cooking spectacular meals for her family that would put the Iron Chefs to shame. Her and Ed’s many adventures included journeys to the Holy Land, Europe, Canada, Hawaii and most all of the U.S. with extensive exploration of Alaska including a cruise with their best friends Lester and Eldean Wing. Carolyn was a member of the Rose Society, Telephone Pioneers and loved singing in the Jesus Heirs choir at Immanuel Baptist Church, where she and Ed were members for several decades. A soul of generosity, she would feed you even if you were not hungry, share her fragrant roses with you, give you “a little something” as you were going out the door and even took in a stray dog or two that needed a home. She and Ed put service to others above themselves, frequently ministering to the sick, injured, frail and lonely. From the time she was a wee girl Carolyn was taught an abiding faith in God, her Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that grew deeper throughout her life. This steadfast and enduring faith has been lovingly passed along and instilled in her subsequent generations. She is preceded in death by her parents Alfred Lee and Mattie (Hensley) Tankersley; her husband Lewis Edward Martin; and a brother Alfred Lee Tankersley, Jr. “The Song is Ended but the Melody Lingers On” Those to cherish this melody include her 3 children: Marshall C. Martin of Tecumseh; Michele M and husband Glen Lamb of Shawnee; Mary S. and husband Brad Gollhardt of Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma. 3 Granddaughters: Lindsey L. Farland (Phillip) of Oklahoma City; Erin S. Gollhardt (Fiance Evan Yauchuczek) of Newark, DE; Jamie Gollhardt of Newark, DE and one great grandchild: Paisley M. Farland; Sister: Marilyn True Thrasher of Montgomery, Texas. Many nieces, nephews and precious friends. Please make memorial donations to the Alzheimers Association; www.act.alz.org or by mail to the Alzheimers Association, 9370 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri 63132 attn: Oklahoma Chapter or to the Gideon Bible Association www.sendtheword.org or mailed to: The Gideons International Processing Center, P.O. Box 97251, Washington, DC 20090-7251 or by phone: 1-866-382-4253. She will lie in state for viewing Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th with private graveside services to be held. Her Memorial Service has been scheduled for Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. in Walker Funeral Service Chapel.