Margaret Frances "Peggy" Martin

Margaret Frances “Peggy” Martin passed away in the early hours of May 16, 2023, at the age of 80, succumbing to congestive heart failure and lung cancer. In her final days she was surrounded by her children, their spouses and partners, many other relatives, and dedicated medical and hospice professionals.

Peggy was born August 24, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, the fourth of five children to Robert Taylor Morris (1914–1994) and the former Dorothy Mae Blanks (1916–1980). In 1954, the family moved to Dallas, Texas, where Peggy attended St. Bernard Catholic grade school and St. Edward’s Academy for girls. On summer trips in those teenage years she would go to her parents’ original home of Louisville, Kentucky, to visit (and get into mischief with) her cousins the Bells and the Cheathams; or she’d go back to Memphis, heading with her sister Mary Ruth over to the Presley house to get a commemorative matchbook from Vernon, just before his son would relocate the family to a more upscale address.

Peggy undertook secretarial work upon high school graduation until, on May 19, 1961, she married Clyde Randall Martin (1933–2016). The couple had five children but divorced in 1970, leaving Peggy to raise the kids alone—but not alone, as she had the constant support of her mother and sisters. The Martin family attended St. Pius X Catholic Church, across the street from their home on Gus Thomasson Rd., and the five children attended St. Pius grade school. Peggy worked a variety of customer-facing jobs in industries such as banking, factoring, and trucking. She took pride in being a sympathetic listener and a skilled conflict de-escalator.

Peggy was by the side of her beloved cancer-stricken mother during her last year. Rather than scaring her off, the experience bore fruit in her desire to work with terminal patients. For some time she ministered to shut-ins through her church. Then, in the early 1990s, Peggy began volunteering with the AIDS Interfaith Network. Later, and as long as her strength allowed, she put in several years with Visiting Angels and nursed many patients, sometimes for months, sometimes for days, as they walked their ultimate journeys.

She had a beautiful singing voice, and sometimes when they would all be together, she and her three sisters might join in a little four-part harmony. Peggy loved listening to music, new or old, in a variety of genres.

A few years after the nest emptied, Peggy purchased land in Kaufman County, where she realized, if briefly, a long-held dream of farm living, raising chickens, goats, and her own horse. From 2007 to 2009, she resided in rural Houston, Missouri, before returning to the Dallas area, keeping her own house in Mesquite and a final apartment in Garland. Health problems finally necessitated moving in with her oldest son, Randy, and his husband, Derwin, in the Oak Cliff area, and there she lived out her final two-and-a-half years. Peggy’s daughter Rene and her husband Manuel also gave selflessly toward her care. Derwin’s mother, Clarissa, and his sons, Derwin Jr., and Xavier, were great friends and comforts to Peggy.

Peggy Martin was predeceased by her mother, father, “Auntie” Ann Bell and several other aunts and uncles, brother Don Morris, sister Mary Ruth Monckton, brother-in-law Richard Monckton, cousins Robert Bell, Barbara Wallace, and Jim and John Cheatham, nephew Jim Morrison, and niece Sam Morrison. She is survived by her children, Rene Reyes (Manuel), Randy (Derwin Hall), Robert, Ron (partner Melissa Franks), and Richard (Meagan Hennessey); sisters Dorothy Yager (Leonard) and Marian Brown (John); cousins Fr. Jerry Bell, Carol Ann Bell, Jackie Wasson, and Marilyn Bourg; grandchildren Homer Ramirez (Casey), Heather Simmons (Colt), and Ryan and Colby Martin; eight great-grandchildren; twelve nieces and nephews among the Jacobs, Morris, Morrison, Ortegon, Morton, Monckton, Lewis and other families; her children’s half-brother Larry (Jackie); and her best friend since high school, Marcelle Hawkins. A devoted dog-lover over the years of too many canine friends to mention, she leaves behind five-year old Bailey.

A celebration of life and internment will be led by Fr. Jerry Bell on May 23, 2023 at 11:00 AM, at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

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