Martha Lee McKoy Barefield went home to be with her Lord and Savior on November 15, 2025. She was born May 10, 1931 in Lillington, North Carlina to Paul Malachi and Maggie Elizabeth McLean McKoy. After graduating from Shawtown High School in Lillington, NC Martha met Lawrence Barefield and was later married. They moved to Port Lavaca, Texas where she pursued her dream to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN). Martha was employed at the Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca (formerly known as Champ Traylor Memorial).
Martha was very active in the community having worked with home extension, the 4-H, Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts, the Calhoun County Election Polls, and the Sunlight Girls Club and was everyone’s mother and grandmother. She was “the boss”, aka church secretary and worked in the finance department for Mount Sinai Baptist Church where she was a faithful and dedicated member.
Martha is survived by her sons, Wilfred M. Burns (Irene) and Marcus Kelly Barefield (Susan); grandchildren, Cheryl Lee Burns Harris (Calvin) and Marcus Kelly Barefield II (Amber); and her extended family and special friends, Alycia Matos (Mike), Michael Alfred Jr., Joyce Brown and Lawrence Williams and her brothers-in-law Bobby Joe Barefield (Ollie) and Jessie Robinson. She has 5 great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews.
Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence Kelly “Tanner” Barefield; parents; sisters, Annie McKoy McAllister, Juanellas Roberts; and brother, Lavernie Paul McKoy.
A visitation will be held on November 21, 2025, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, located at 419 W Center, Port Lavaca, Texas, 77979. The funeral service will follow at 11:00 am at the same location. The committal service will take place at an external service location at 624 S Trinity St, Port Lavaca, TX, 77979.