Martha Metrailer

Martha Vacula Sturdivant Metrailer of Benton, Arkansas went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 6, 2021. Martha was born in Plum, Texas on January 22, 1920 to Joseph J. Vacula and Antoine E. Matocha Vacula. She was blessed to live to the age of 101. She was of the Catholic faith her entire life, she loved the Lord and the fruits of the spirit were always evident in the way she loved her family and friends.

Martha was raised in the home with her three brothers, Joe, Vac and Ernest. Her mother instilled the value of being industrious into her life at an early age, she learned to be a servant always serving others from the heart. When she met Cyrus Newbeatty Sturdivant, 16 years her senior, she knew she had met the love of her life. They married in 1938 and together they welcomed six children, four boys and two girls. While Martha cared for their children Sturdivant, as she lovingly called her husband, worked to support their family. Gods plans are not always our plans, Sturdivant went to work in Louisiana to earn extra for the family on 4th of July weekend in 1953 and Martha received a call no one ever wants to receive, Sturdivant had passed away, Martha was only 32 years old. Although heartbroken she managed to stand upon her strong faith in God and carry on. After the death of her husband some of her happiest years were those she worked as an employee of Pfeifer Blass and MM Cohn. She worked at Cohn’s for 36 years and was well into her 80’s when the employment chapter of her life closed. She lived the values she taught her children of hard work and perseverance mixed with honesty, ambition and integrity. She never met a stranger and made friends everywhere she went. She was admired and loved by her children and grandchildren for many things but at the top of the list would be her love for cooking. She was blessed to have traveled the world visiting places she had only dreamed of seeing. In her latter years her favorite vacation became joining her son, Larry on cruises. She loved telling her friends about all the fun she had on the 15 cruises she took. She loved animals and always had a little dog her last being Sophie, her constant companion for many years. She will be remembered for many things by her children and grandchildren, her sweet loving disposition, making others feel loved, her fun loving personality and sense of humor and the wisdom she gained from making the best of the things she faced in life. She will forever be the matriarch of the family she loved and she will be missed beyond measure.

Martha was predeceased by her husband, Cyrus Newbeatty Sturdivant and her second husband Tony Metrailer. She had lost three of her six children, Wanlou Anthony “Sonny” Sturdivant, James Michael Sturdivant and Wanda Louise Sturdivant. She leaves behind three children Robert “Bob” Sturdivant of Gig Harbor, Washington; Larry Sturdivant of Little Rock, Arkansas and Diane Sedberry of Benton, Arkansas. She was the loving grandmother to 14 grandchildren, Great grandchildren and

Great great grandchildren.

The family would like to thank Mt. Carmel Community of Benton and their staff for their love and care for Martha for the past 7 years.