Mary Louise Martin

Mary Louise Martin, 91, of Dunnellon, FL went to be with the Lord on December 31, 2024. 

Mary was born October 8, 1933. She grew up in Kentucky. She is remembered as the adventurous one among her cousins. She was known to catch snakes and take them to school to scare kids on the playground. She once tricked her brother Jaybird into drinking a “milkshake” that was really a glass of frothy soap suds. 

In her 20’s, Mary was inspired to flee the cold winters of Kentucky while reading The St. Petersburg Times. She noticed the columns full of employment ads and took special interest in the mild winter temperatures that Florida offered. She bought a car and headed to the beaches. She ended up in Pinellas County, Florida. Not long after, she met her husband, Lou, at a stoplight. They were married three months later. It was rumored that Mary told him they had to get married before she returned to Kentucky to see the Fall leaves. They were lovingly married for 60 years. 

She worked on and off as a secretary while her kids were growing up, but most notably she worked on several projects at Honeywell, including the MinuteMan Missile project in the 1960s. 

Mary and Lou moved to Dunnellon in 1983 when they built a house on the river. Mary prayed over that house, asking that it always be a welcoming refuge for those who needed it. It was. Mary was ready to welcome anyone that needed a place to stay or a plate to eat. 

Mary’s legacy holds strong among her grandchildren. She was deeply involved in their lives. She kept them for weeks in the summer, held special tea parties with her granddaughters, and always made sure to have breakfast cooking when they woke up. She prayed for them by name each day and made sure they always had a stable place to return to. 

Mary was a faithful Christian all her life. Her Bible was thick with years of use and filled with notes. She sang in the choir and kept the giving records for her church for many years. 

She was reunited in death with her beloved husband Louis Martin, her parents: Virgil and Ola Williams, her siblings: Virgil (Jaybird) Williams and Sandy Woods, and her grandson Jonathan Lowman. 

She is survived by her children: Angela (Frank) Lowman, Melanie (Rick) Kindred and John Martin, her grandchildren: Amanda Lowman, Matthew (Deanne) Kindred, Sara (Guideaux) Crocker, Casundra Martin, Justin Kindred, and Cally Jo Martin, and her great-grandchildren: Julianna Oyer, Zachary Kindred and Lily Crocker, as well as many nieces and nephews. 

Services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 11 at First Baptist Church of Dunnellon, 20831 Powell Rd, Dunnellon, FL. Lunch to follow. She will be buried with her husband at Bushnell National Cemetery. Donations can be made to the FBC of Dunnellon Missions fund in her name.