After spending 74 brilliant years on this Earth, Martha Terry closed her eyes and welcomed eternal rest on January 31, 2024. A rest that is well deserved, because rest was not something Martha Terry did much of in her rich and joy-filled life. Martha was busy. Always has been! Probably still is, making to-do lists, organizing clubs, and starting a new business in her heavenly resting place.
Born on June 1, 1949, in Montgomery, Alabama, Martha first dreamed of becoming a champion horseback rider like Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. While she did maintain a lifelong love of horses, it turned out that math, logic, and science were her real talents. After graduating from Sweet Briar College with a degree in Mathematics in 1971, she went on to receive her Masters in Biostatistics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, beginning a nearly 50-year career in data processing in the 70s when computers were the size of SUVs.
Martha married Charles Jackson Terry (Jack) of Uniontown, Alabama, in 1975, and the two began their life together in Mobile. They shared a love for nature and the outdoors, spending great amounts of time at their farm, The Slopes, as well as fishing in the Gulf on their boat, "Got a Potty" - the greatest name for a boat that ever was. Martha and Jack spent their years together raising two children, traveling, and enjoying life in Mobile. When Jack died in 2001, Martha took on the unexpected role of widowed parent, braving her new adventure with the force of an iron magnolia. When asked if she ever considered dating years after her husband's death, she liked to joke, "Why would I do that when I already had the best."
In 2012, she accepted a new challenge: a small business owner. Martha took over the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Mobile, co-owning it with her son, Caldwell Terry. To honor her memory, Caldwell will continue to bring the joys of backyard birding to the local community through their store.
Martha became a grandmother in 2018 after the birth of her granddaughter, Charlie Stein, and again after the birth of her grandson, Taylor Stein, in 2021. Known as "Gammy" to Charlie and Taylor, she was delighted to be present for both of their arrivals and proudly kept her World's Best Grandma mug on display. She loved traveling to London to visit them and loved spoiling them rotten.
Martha was passionate about her work and family but equally committed to her friends and community. She was an active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church and her Cursillo Reunion Group. She cultivated her love for nature and flowers as the treasurer of the Camellia Club of Mobile. Martha helped support others who had lost their spouses in the Chapter Two Widow's Group. She also played bridge with the same group of girlfriends every month since 1975. Faith, friendship, and community were pillars of Martha's life.
Martha was preceded in death by her parents, Ann Rogers Roton and Burton Roton Sr., and her beloved husband, Charles Jackson Terry.
Martha is survived by her brother, Burton Roton Jr. (Cindy), her children Caldwell Terry and Ann Terry (Jeremy Stein), and her adorable grandchildren, Charlie and Taylor Stein.
To summarize her life in a few hundred words is an impossible task. And she will be missed more than an obituary can express. But her memory will continue to be celebrated.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mobile, Alabama, on Tuesday, February 6, at noon. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, February 7, at 12:30 PM at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Uniontown, Alabama.
In place of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mobile, AL.
Published by AL.com (Mobile) from February 2 to May 31, 2024.
https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/mobile/name/martha-terry-obituary?id=54276183