Obituary of Mary Ellen Martin

Mary Ellen Martin, 89, passed away on Saturday evening, May 27, 2017 at West Woods of Niles. She was born on Sept 22, 1927 to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Ogle of Charleston, WV. Mary was an adventurous, bright, energetic and kind woman to all that encountered her. She was a member of Chi Omega Sorority while attending college at West Virginia University. After graduating with her bachelor's degree, she began working as a service club director for the U.S. Armed Services. She traveled to Japan, Morocco, and ultimately to an English airbase, where she met the love of her life, Dr. Edward H. Martin of Niles, Michigan who was in the Air Force at the time. They married on February 25, 1956 in Charleston, West Virginia. They celebrated sixty-one years of marriage together in Niles. Her primary love was Edward and her four children, but she also had a love of "pets" which included dogs, cats, horses, a pig, a raccoon, guinea pigs, chinchillas, mice, and a various assortment of reptiles, brought home by her young children. Mary also enjoyed time spent with friends and was known to have an occasional martini or beer from time to time. She was always involved with a crossword puzzle and rarely did not complete them. Being a social director, she was also a wonderful entertainer and she and Ed would often have get-togethers with many friends and family on a regular basis at their home north of Niles. Both she and Edward were active members of the St. Joe Valley Hobos - a group of campers that traveled the country with their RVs which they dearly enjoyed in their retirement years. Their motor home trip to Alaska was their favorite which they talked about often. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence A. Ogle in 1970 and her mother, Martha H. (Gehrken) in 1981. She had a sister Catherine Ann Sawyer who passed in 2007. She is greatly missed by her husband, Dr. Edward Martin of Niles, her 4 children; John (Cheri) Martin of Grand Blanc, Michigan; Laura (Scott) Miller of Niles; Catherine (Charles) Ross of Novi, Michigan; and Leslie (Neale) Behm of Lancaster, Kentucky. She is also survived by seven grandchildren; Colin, Anna, Joseph, Laura, Elizabeth, Andrea and Michelle and one great-grandchild, Landon. Mary, dear wife, mother and grandmother and aunt will be greatly missed by all. A time of visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Brown Funeral Home in Niles. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Brown Funeral Home. A private interment will be held at Mission Hills Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Niles Public Library.