Obituary of Jean Martin

Jean E. Cox Martin, age 92, died peacefully at her home in Mountain Home, AR, on February 15, 2015. Jean was born October 9, 1922, in Ripley County, MO, to Henry C. and Odessa (Hood) Pepmiller. Jean was married to Jesse Paul Cox on October 9, 1937, in Pocahontas, AR. To this union, two daughters were born, Paula Jeanne and Mary Sue. Paul died in February, 1986. She married Vernon E. Martin in Doniphan, MO, in November 1992. Vernon passed away in November, 2009. In Doniphan Jean was an active member of First Christian Church, serving as a Deaconess, Trustee and Chairman of the Board. She served the Ripley County Health Center as a Board Member. She was a member of the Happy Homemakers ' Extension Club and a faithful attender of the Pepmiller cousins monthly get-togethers. Jean joined the Order of the Eastern Star in Doniphan, Chapter 288 and advanced to become Worthy Grand Matron of the State of Missouri in 1984. Her husband Paul served as her Grand Escort for many formal occasions. She was appointed to an International OES Committee. At her death she was a member of Doniphan Chapter 288 and Grandin Chapter 519, OES. In Mountain Home, Jean Martin was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Seeders & Cedars Garden Club and the Friday afternoon Coffee Group of McDonald's. She rarely missed an event her great grandchildren were involved in. Jean is survived by her daughters, Paula Stewart of Mountain Home, AR, and Mary Sue (Gary) Abernathy of Dayton, OH; her grandchildren Mindy (Rob) Conner of Mountain Home, AR, Chris (Jessica) Abernathy of Dayton, OH, and Lisa (Justin) Durlewanger of Baton Rouge, LA; her great grandchildren, Samantha, Grant and Cara Conner, Evelyn and Arthur Abernathy and Axel Durlewanger; her sister, Bettie Bagwill of Doniphan, MO, and special friends, Martha Cruz, Judy Page, Tia Horn, Rhonda Piland and Linda Zimmerman. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Henry C., Jr. and Earnest Franklin, and her husbands. Memorials may be made to the Youth Fund at First United Methodist Church in Mountain Home, AR, or the First Christian Church in Doniphan, MO. A visitation with the family will be at the Mountain Home First United Methodist Church parlor, from 2-4:00, Friday, February 20, and a funeral will be held at 1:00 on Saturday, February 21, 2015, at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan, MO, with a visitation from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.