Martha Ellis Stanberry

They were a farming family, and they were poor, like most rural people in the Great Depression, but Martha always said she never realized they were poor until many years later. She mainly knew that she was happy and loved.

Martha met her future husband, Bill Stanberry, at the age of sixteen. Bill’s father was a Baptist preacher who came to speak at Martha’s family’s church at Christmas, and they met walking along a sandy country road. On July 17, 1948, they married at the age of 17 and at the time of Martha’s passing had shared a beautiful love story for 77 years.

Martha always wanted to see the world, and in 1952, Bill joined the US Army and they began 29 years of military life. They lived all over the US and had tours in Asia (Okinawa and the Philippines) and Europe (Germany) and traveled extensively around wherever they were stationed.

In the early years of their marriage, they had a son, Billy Jack Stanbery, and a daughter, Sharon Stanberry Rosshirt. Martha was a wonderful military wife, balancing the needs of raising happy children with packing up households and moving to a new location almost every year. Several times Bill’s tour of duty did not allow family, and it fell on Martha to raise the children alone, like Bill’s tour in Iceland and three tours in Viet Nam. She relied on her East Texas family in those times, and they were always there for her. She was a large component in Bill’s success in the military as he moved from an enlisted Private to Full Colonel at the time of his retirement. She could throw together a formal dinner for twenty at the drop of a hat and was a great conversationalist; well read, engaging, and always interested in others.

During Bill’s third tour in Viet Nam, they adopted the eldest daughter of a dear friend and South Vietnamese military counterpart who wanted his children safely out of the country. Kim Mai Vinson at sixteen became Bill and Martha’s third child, and came to live with the family in Stuttgart, Germany.

Upon Bill’s retirement from the military, he started Stanberry and Associates REALTORS®, an enterprise that spanned the next 40 plus years of her life. Martha was a matriarchal figure in the company, including baking birthday cakes for everyone, earning her nickname “Queen of Cakes”. She saw agents and staff as extended family and treated them so; always warm, welcoming, and cheerful, creating a special atmosphere not seen in many real estate firms.

Martha had unbounded devotion to her family, and relished her active role as Grandmother of six, and later Great Grandmother of three. She always said that in her version of heaven, there would be babies.

Martha is survived by her loving husband, Bill Stanberry; son, BJ Stanbery; daughters, Sharon Stanberry Rosshirt and Mai Vinson; sons-in-law, John Rosshirt and Michael Vinson; grandchildren, John Leo Rosshirt III (Jenny Carroll), John Marshall Huntington, Will Rosshirt, Christopher Vinson (Lauren), Ryan Patrick Rosshirt (Rachel Glasheen Rosshirt), and Catherine Michelle Vinson; great grandchildren, Aubrey Rosshirt and Alex Rosshirt and Mia Vinson.

Visitation will be held at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral H, 6300 West William Cannon Drive, Austin, TX 78749, US, on March 27, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

A Celebration of Life will take place at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home, 6300 West William Cannon Drive, Austin, TX 78749, on March 28, 2026, at 1:00 pm.

Interment will be at Cook Walden Forest Oaks Memorial Park.

A reception will be held at the funeral home immediately following the interment service.