- Date Of Birth: May 30, 1936
- Date Of Death: November 20, 2015
- State: Georgia
1936 would turn out to be a record breaker year for a heat wave in the United States, but down in Alabama, Dewitt Martin and his wife Emma Smith Martin welcomed their fifth child into the family. Jeanette was born on May 30, 1936. The Martin families were firmly entrenched in the agrarian lifestyle of the area that had only a few years prior, become the site of the largest manmade lake in this country. Jeanette’s early years taught her the value of good morals, a strong work ethic and firm family values that would bode well for her in years to come. While still a teenager, Jeanette was smitten by a young highway engineer named Bill Ward who was working on a roadway near her home.
In 1952 she would become his wife. For the next 63 years, she would wear many different hats as a wife and mother, for it was she who kept the home fires burning because Bill’s continuing education and work as an engineer would keep him away from home for long periods of time. Being a young mother and raising five children called for strong discipline and great organizational skills. While gentle of nature she could be a force to be reckoned with should she know something was just not right. She managed to wear all of these hats well. Her children, her husband and grandchildren will forever benefit from that legacy of love and selfless dedication to her family. There are a lot of good cooks in the world, but the things that came from Jeanette’s kitchen were steeped in love and executed with the purpose of being pleasing to the recipients of her skills. Jeanette loved music and her favorite times were those spent listening and joining in as the family gathered for a singalong. Another favorite passion of hers involved God’s creatures with wings. She never tired of her bird watching and tending the feeder.
Jeanette is survived by her husband Bill. Her children are Brian Ward and his fiancé Sharon Boyd, Lisa J. Ward, Carol Ward and her husband Daniel Garland, Deanna Davis and her husband Herschel and Melinda Ward. There are six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Also surviving is her brother Sam Martin and his wife Ellen.
