Martha Elizabeth Old "Bebe" Fleshman

Martha Elizabeth Old Fleshman—lovingly known to all as "Bebe”—passed away on January 23, 2025, at the age of 100. Born on March 10, 1924, in the railroad town of Crewe, Virginia, Bebe was the daughter of Edwin Henry Old and Ethel Blair Adams. After graduating high school, she attended Farmville State Teachers College in Farmville, Virginia (now Longwood University). Bebe met the love of her life, Otis Wyatt Fleshman, Jr., on a double date while he was stationed in Virginia, and they married on August 22, 1953. After their wedding in Crewe, the couple moved to Baton Rouge. Despite the distance, Bebe remained a proud Virginian, carrying the values and traditions of her upbringing to her new home in Louisiana.

A woman of profound faith, Bebe was an active member of the Broadmoor community and First Presbyterian Church, where she served as an officer of the Presbyterian Women of the Church and received its Honorary Life Membership Award. Her life was defined by her Christ-like love for others, resilience, humility, and unwavering devotion to family. She had a genuine interest in others, a remarkable memory, and an extraordinary ability to make everyone feel like they were the most important person in the room. Visitors to Bebe's home were greeted with her warm smile and gracious hospitality, and after hours of conversation, they would leave with a bag of her signature homemade cheese straws.

Through the trials of life, including the heartbreaking losses of three of her children, Bebe found strength in her faith, focused on “counting her many blessings,” and ensured that the family remained close. Bebe created many cherished traditions that strengthened her family’s bond and love for each other. Each summer, Bebe and her children returned to Crewe to spend the summers with her parents and older brother. She also arranged a longstanding weekly Wednesday gathering for her grandchildren at her home in Broadmoor. These “Wednesdays at Bebe’s” were filled with laughter, life lessons, cooking classes, sports in the front yard, and go-cart rides (often with Bebe riding along in the passenger seat), and these sacred moments together forged a deep bond between her grandchildren and Bebe. Bebe’s enduring independence was a testament to her spirit, living on her own and in good health until her final days, supported by the loving and devoted care of Susan Stephens, to whom the family is deeply grateful.

Bebe was preceded in death by her parents; her older brother, Edwin “Ned” Old; her husband of 57 years, Otis; her daughter, Mildred Ethel “Mimi” Fleshman Sanches; her sons, Edwin and Fred Fleshman; and many cherished friends and family members.

Bebe's faith-filled heart, words of wisdom and encouragement, love for family gatherings at “the Picadilly,” and loving spirit will forever live on in all who knew and survived her, especially her son, Roger Fleshman (Emily Charles); her daughters-in-law, Nina Broyles Fleshman and Glenda Sanders Fleshman; her grandchildren, Elizabeth “Missy” Fleshman, Dr. Stephen Sanches (Kathryn Johnson), David Fleshman (Loren Shanklin), Grace Fleshman, Dr. Steven Hart (Dr. Holli Sadler), and Christopher Reed Hart; and her great-grandchildren, Kennedy Besil, Adelaide Sanches, Juliana Sanches, Charlie Sanches, Jack Sanches, Virginia Fleshman, Edwin Fleshman, II, and Oliver Fleshman.

Bebe’s incredible life will be celebrated on Friday, January 31, 2025, in the Dunham Chapel at First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m., followed by a memorial service at 10:00 a.m. She will rest alongside her husband and children in the Young

Family Cemetery in Zachary, Louisiana. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, Pryor Memorial Presbyterian in Crewe, VA, or the Young Family Cemetery.