Brenda was born in Dallas, Texas on July 14, 1940. She spent the first half of her life in Dallas, where she graduated from W.W. Samuel High School in 1959. Brenda continued her post-secondary education at North Texas State University, graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She later earned her Master of Education degree from North Texas State University, graduating in 1969. While there, she was a member of the Gamma Eta chapter of Alpha Phi.
Brenda taught in both the Denton and Dallas public school system for twelve years. In her final year of teaching in Dallas, she was honored to be selected as “Teacher of the Year” at Stults Road Elementary School. It was in Dallas that Brenda met and married her husband, Barry. They married in 1975, and relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. Brenda taught at Clay Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia for another year before retiring in 1976, when her daughter Jennifer was born. She would later return to teaching at John Knox Preschool in Marietta, Georgia, where she taught three-year old preschool from 1993 to 1994.
Brenda loved collecting antiques, taking long walks on the beaches of Florida and South Carolina, and hiking mountain trails with her family. She also enjoyed taking day trips to the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee with her husband, Barry. One of her most treasured pastimes was her annual pilgrimage to Texas for a “slumber party” with her childhood girlfriends. Brenda had a quick wit and a beautiful smile, and above all else, was a devoted mother and grandmother.
Brenda was preceded in death by her father and mother, Forrest Maxwell Martin and Sammie Maurice Martin; and sister, Beverly Martin Kennedy of Dallas, Texas. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Barry Chester Graham; her daughter, Jennifer Graham Ellise, and her daughter’s husband, Arden Andrews Ellise; her granddaughter Sophia; and step-grandchildren, Chandler, Margaret, Camille, Anne, and Bridgette.
A memorial service celebrating her life is planned for Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 2:00 PM, at Paces Ferry United Methodist Church, 3612 Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 900 South Broadway - Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 80209.
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