Mary Alice Martin

Mary Alice told more than one person that she wanted to go to sleep one day and wake up in heaven, and she passed peacefully.

She is survived by three of her children: Edward Martin and wife Patsy, of Austin; Joyce McMillan and husband Robert, of Waxahachie; and Terry Martin of Houston. She is also survived by eight joys of her life: four grandchildren; Leah, Bobby, Phillip and Amy; four great grandchildren; Ian, Gracie, Aton and Everly; and nephews, nieces, and a close friend, Lezlie Shell, who often took care of her.

Mary Alice was preceded in death by her son Larry Martin, her husband of 65 years, Edward Doyle Martin, who passed away in 2013; her two brothers; Miloslav Michal Jr. and George Jeffery Michal.

During most of her youth, Mary Alice lived in Zimmerman, La., a sawmill town on the Red River near Alexandria, where her father worked for the Bentley Lumber Company. She graduated from Boyce High School, where she played the trumpet in the band, but for part of her childhood, the family moved back to their farm near Flatonia, Texas, an area that Czech and German family members called home.

Mary Alice and her husband Doyle were children of the Great Depression and World War II, and their lives were shaped by those challenging events. Doyle served in Marine Corps Aviation in the Pacific theatre, and after the war, they were introduced to each other by Mary Alice’s cousin Emil Michal and Doyle’s sister Alice, who were married before Doyle and Mary Alice walked down the aisle on April 17, 1948. The newlyweds moved to Orange, Texas for a year before moving to Houston in 1949 and buying the House in Oak Forest that is still the Martin family home.

May Alice and Doyle wanted a family, and they gave their children the things that matter more than money: food on the table; love in their hearts; discipline, a sense of responsibility, security, and education. Doyle built a career at Capitol Steel and Iron and Mary Alice, a woman of many talents, spent years of her life teaching and caring for her children and her parents, who moved to Houston in 1952. There were many days when Mary Alice went once or twice to her parents’ house to make sure all was well.

The Martin house is close to an elementary and a junior high school, a bit of geography that allowed Mom to meet many of our friends, who were almost always welcome there. And she and Dad met many more adults and their kids as active members of Baptist Temple and, in later years, at Oak Forest Baptist Church.

Years ago, there was a baseball backstop nearby where our teams practiced, and sometimes we’d load up the station wagon after practice to go to Colt 45’s and Astros games, where Mom kept score on her own scorecard.

Mom also helped organize Marine reunions, spent time with three generations of kids, and had a family of friends bigger than blood relations. But there was nothing quite like their drives to the Hill Country to buy - and sometimes pick - fresh peaches. They skillfully organized the operation that turned those fresh peaches into a freezer full of sweetness that lasted for months to come.

This couple from the Depression and WW II era provided us things that matter beyond measure. Recently, Mom shared a thought that surely echoed through her lifetime. “We’ve all got to pull together, and I’ve got to do my part.” Mary Alice Martin did her part, and so much more!

A visitation for Mary will be held Wednesday, May 24, 2023 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Heights Funeral Home, 1317 Heights Blvd, Houston, Texas 77008. A graveside service will occur Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, 6900 Lawndale Street, Houston, Texas 77023.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.heightsfuneralhome.com for the Martin family.