Phyllis Ruth Martin

Phyllis Ruth Jarmin was the youngest of five siblings and was born to Eric and Phyllis Jarmin in Kidderminster, England on March 20, 1943.

As a young girl, Phyllis and her family moved several times within England due to her father’s work as a minister.

Phyllis attended nursing school in Sheffield, England where she met Malcolm Gray, the father of her three sons. Phyllis and Malcolm were married in England in 1964. Their first son Paul was born in Sheffield in 1965. In 1966, Phyllis and Malcolm emigrated from England to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While living in Pittsburgh, Phyllis and Malcolm had their second and third children, Michael and Peter. Phyllis and Malcolm moved to Houston in 1970, back to Pittsburgh in 1971, and to Stamford, Connecticut in 1973. After living in Connecticut for six years, the family moved to Houston in 1979.

Phyllis and Malcolm were divorced in 1986. In 1987, Phyllis married Lawrence Martin. They lived in Houston, Austin, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Austin again until Lawrence’s passing in 2012.

Phyllis was an avid gardener and enjoyed walking and exercising. She was a voracious reader and excelled at doing crossword puzzles and playing Scrabble.

Most of all, Phyllis will be remembered by her three sons for being a kind and encouraging mom and by her grandchildren for being a fantastic grandmother.

Phyllis is survived by two sisters, Jane Heath and Jenny Rothschild, her brother Jim Jarmin, her three sons Paul Anthony Gray, Ashton Michael Gray and Peter John Gray, her daughter in law Enrica Vagliani, and her three grandchildren Victoria Evelyn Gray, William Andrew Gray and James Philip Gray.

A memorial service will be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Friday, the 15th of January in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive.

In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in Phyllis’s memory may be directed to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210-4486.