Carol Ann Maertens

Born July 2, 1945, Carol would have celebrated her 81st birthday the next day. Her parents were André and Mary (Sossi) Maertens of Detroit, Michigan. Carol, her sister Diane, and Loretta Garing, of loving memory, moved to Belleville in 1986. Until 1994, they ministered at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in service to the Victorious Missionaries, a ministry dedicated to the spiritual inclusion of people with disabilities. In 1996, she co-founded a not-for-profit ministry, Seeds of Hope, providing programs and services for people with disabilities.

In the late 1990s, Carol, Loretta, and Diane became Synodically Authorized Ministers in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and served at Calvary Lutheran Church in Belleville. Presently, the Maertens family worship at First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville.

Because of her cerebral palsy, Carol held strong convictions about those with disabilities. Even more, she lived a life marked by compassion, strong faith, and devotion to all she met. She lived her life for the people she loved. Her smile that could light up a room, sense of humor, infectious laughter, generosity, selflessness, and warmth of spirit will live on in those who remember her. She leaves behind her sister Diane Maertens, and adopted sons, JJ (Jeremiah) Hakeem Maertens, and Elijah Areion Maertens.

Throughout her life and keeping with the faith into which she was born and baptized, Carol professed her commitment to live the gospel according to the example of St. Francis of Assisi to her belonging to the Secular Franciscan Order in fellowship with her SFO community. Thus, even till death, she made a habit to prayer, peace, justice, service to others, and concern for the marginalized.

Memorial donations in Carol’s memory may be given to the “Needs Among Us” ministry at First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville. This ministry serves the needs of people in the local community at large in providing life giving support to those in need.