Martha Alice Ethridge Jenkins died August 21, 2013 at her home in Houston with her son Palmer William Jenkins and longtime caregiver Leticia Lopez at her bed side. Sister Terry of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word was at hand to bless the departing soul and the bereaved remaining.
The third of 6 children born November 11, 1919 to William Lynnton Ethridge, Sr. and Lilah Gladden in Monroe, LA, Martha left us with wonderful stories of her summers at the Oak Ridge, LA farm of her grandmother, Lallie. After moving to Houston she attended San Jacinto High School, and then graduated from Rice University across the street from her house at Ashby and Rice Blvd. While at Rice she met Palmer Wyatt Jenkins of Sugarland, TX. After a courtship, on the eve of WWII she married Palmer and followed the newly enlisted naval cadet to California, Moscow, Idaho, and back to the shores of the Pacific. There she waited for her husband to return safely to her and bore her first son, Palmer William on August 1, 1944. After returning to Houston a second son, Thomas Wayne was born to the couple.
Subsequently, Martha taught 5th grade at Mark Twain Elementary school for 35 years. After 61 years of marriage, her husband Palmer died, June 6, 2003. He was put to rest in Riverview Cemetery. She will join him there Tuesday, August 27, 2013.
Martha is survived by her two sons, three grandchildren, one great grandchild, and eleven nieces and nephews.
Martha was preceded in death by three brothers, Lynnton Ethridge, Jr. and Evans Ethridge, both of Monroe, LA, and John Ethridge of Bigfork, MT; two sisters, Jeanne Neimann of Brenham, TX and Pat Andrews of Pasadena, CA.
Private graveside services will be held Tuesday, August 27, 2013, at Riverview Cemetery under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe.
Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com
Mulhearn Funeral Home
Sterlington Road
Monroe, LA
Private Family Services