Martha Belle Henry

Martha Belle Ammerman-- tenth of the eleven children of Mary Betty Baily Ammerman and James Phillip Ammerman, Sr. -- was born April 28, 1926, at the Ammerman farm home on the Mount Vernon Pike, Harrison County, near Cynthiana, Kentucky. She was born into a family of great character and strength which would be reflected by its family members in many and various ways. Martha absorbed into her very being such traits as faithfulness, loyalty, industriousness, honesty, mutual love, academic excellence and a personal Christian commitment.

She excelled academically with other members of her family, being valedictorian of the Connersville (Kentucky) High School Class of 1944; and valedictorian of the Kentucky Wesleyan College Class of 1948. She later taught English literature and commercial subjects at Mt. Sterling (Kentucky) High School, and at Hawesville (Kentucky) High School. She taught several years in the Army Education Center at Fort Knox as a federal civil service employee.

Her family’s participation in Mt. Hope Methodist Church, not far from her home, inspired her Christian commitment as a child. She and her family were strengthened in faith over the years by their companionship with other strong and loving Christians at Mt. Hope.

As a student at Kentucky Wesleyan College she met George Edward Henry. She was a member of the Christian Life Fellowship and he was preparing for the ordained ministry. They were married at Mt. Hope on July 5, 1949. Their marriage was established on absolute faithfulness and commitment toward one another and a deep mutual devotion between them, which continued for 66 years until her death on February 1, 2016. Their children are Betty Allen Henry Sparks (Clifford), George Edward Henry II (Gerri), Timothy Mark Henry, and Phillip Victor Henry-Sadlo (Linda). Grandchildren are Martha Louise Sparks (Todd), Mary Linda Sparks, Patrick Blackburn (Ji), Sean Blackburn (Tanna), Kathryn Reichert and Aaron Henry-Sadlo. Great-grandchildren are Avery Michelle Sparks-Johnson, Elizabeth Belle Sparks-Johnson, Jacob Todd Sparks-Johnson, Conor Patrick Blackburn, and Asher Kim Blackburn. Their children they considered to be their greatest human treasure.

Martha and her husband participated together in Methodist pastoral ministries in southern and western Kentucky and in Louisville through the years. From 1968 on they had lived and served in Louisville, so upon their retirements Martha chose membership in St. Paul United Methodist Church at Douglass and Bardstown Road in Louisville, and in its LOA Sunday School Class.

Preceding Martha in death were her parents; two younger brothers she never met, Everett and Charles; other brothers and sisters, Joel Henry Ammerman, James Phillip Ammerman, Jr., Frazier Owen Ammerman, Mary Sue (Ammerman) White, and Louisa Ammerman.

Surviving Martha are her husband, her brothers, Howard Kendall Ammerman and Clarence Baily Ammerman, her sister Lillie Mae Ammerman; and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren named above.

Home as Martha envisioned it was not a place endowed with costly ornaments, but of quiet beauty and serenity. It had the security of love; the strength of trust; and the relief of forgiveness. Martha was not a stern disciplinarian, but one who helped us right our mistaken steps. Though she worked long hours outside the home, what she thought counted most was in it --with husband, children and friends. The nature of our work was that one did not always know when the home ended and the church began. Often physically church and home were side by side. That meant, the best of both worlds could blend right where we were. And interruptions could become opportunities. Wherever we went in our churches, Martha gained special friends, with names such as Ashcraft, Haven, Short, and others.

Martha’s most recent years had the addition of health conditions that had to be overcome. What is necessary is not to enumerate them, but to give great thanks. Abundant thanks is due to Eric J. Hilgeford, MD, our primary physician who has brought us out through numbers of deep crises. His combination of personal caring and professional care have carried us far along our way. And, since October 27 most of our days and nights we gratefully have been receiving care at Baptist East Hospital. It was there that this world collapsed around Martha on February 1, 2016, surrounded by a highly skilled host striving to save her once more.

I, her husband, see all of these blessings as an integral part of what God does for us. So I offer up all of this in thanksgiving to our benevolent God. Out of love God gave us Martha. It is not so much that God gave and God takes away. It IS that God gave, but when this world collapsed around her, it was not that God TOOK her, bereaved us, took part of our very self. But that same love of God RECEIVED her, gently. The Great Physician is ministering.

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, February 4, 2016, at 10:00 am at St. Paul Methodist Church, 2000 Douglass Blvd, Louisville, Kentucky. Visitation will be from 4-8 on Wednesday February 3, 2016, at Arch L. Heady at Resthaven, 4400 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Kentucky.

There will be a memorial service at Mt. Hope Methodist Church, Harrison County, near Cynthiana Kentucky on Thursday, February 4, 2016, at 3:00

p. m. with burial to follow in Battle Grove Cemetery in Cynthiana, Kentucky. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro. Friends and family may sign her online guestbook at www.archlheadyresthaven.com