Doris Jean Martin

Our beloved wife and mother, Doris Jean Reid Martin was born February 5, 1930 to the late C.J.B. Reid and Maude Reid in Belmont, North Carolina. On September 3, 2016, she gently took life’s last breath and peacefully transitioned this earthly life into eternal rest. She was eighty-six (86) years old. Doris Jean, as she was known to friends and family, graduated from Reid High School in Belmont, North Carolina and went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from Barber Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina in 1949. Immediately after graduation she accepted her first professional position with Gaston County Schools as an Elementary school teacher in Dallas, North Carolina. She relocated to Washington, D.C. and worked at the Department of Defense as a clerk typist, seeking to experience life outside of small town Belmont. Because of her love for teaching and determination to build a career, she accepted a teaching job with Wicomico County Schools in Quantico, Maryland, for more than 30 years until her retirement. Through mutual friends, she met her future husband, Oswald Martin. The Martins married in Belmont, North Carolina on August 21, 1957. They made their home in another little town called Allen, Maryland and raised three children. Doris Jean dedicated her life to Christ at an early age and was a member of Hood Memorial in Belmont, North Carolina and Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Princess Anne, Maryland. She served as a pianist when needed, a Sunday School teacher and Communion Steward. In addition to church and family, Mrs. Martin enjoyed traveling and the local fine arts community. After retiring she was active with the retirement group, Happy Timers and activities at Metropolitan. Sewing, crafting, gardening, traveling, tending houseplants and canning fruits and vegetables were favorite activities for Mrs. Martin in her leisure time. She loved to read and was especially good at working crossword puzzles. She leaves behind to cherish precious memories: her husband of fifty-nine (59) years, Oswald Edward Martin; she was a devoted mother to her 3 children, Janice Delores Templeton (Michial), Peronnes-lez-Binche, Belgium, Alison Lynn Martin, Baltimore, Maryland and Stephen Edward Martin (Latonya) Snow Hill, Maryland; 5 grandchildren, Michial Templeton, II, (Courtney), Kearney, Nebraska Kristina, Kyle, Myles and Graham, Snow Hill, Maryland and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; father-in-law Louis Martin and mother-in-law Irene Polk-Martin; two brothers, Horace Reid and Bernard Reid and one sister Helen Reid Foster. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Doris Jean Martin, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

Doris Jean Martin

February 5, 1930 - September 3, 2016