Anna Lee Martin

Amazing Grace! On November 21, 2020, Anna Lee (Wright) Martin, age 97, a resident of Tiffany Springs Senior Living Community, joined her many dear family members and friends, giving thanks to be in the presence of our Lord. Born on November 12, 1923, in Cass County, MO, Anna Lee was the youngest child of Hannah (Lawson) and Olin Wright. After her father’s early death, stepfather Wray George came into the family, from whom Anna Lee learned to love horse racing and card games like pinochle. After graduating from Harrisonville, MO, High School in 1940, Anna Lee married James U. (Jimmie) Martin in August 1945, after he had completed his military service in the Pacific during World War II and joined Trans World Airlines (TWA). The couple was blessed with a son, J.R., in 1946. Later, Anna Lee joined Farmland Foods as an Executive Secretary; she retired in 1989, but remained active socially with her former bosses and co-workers until recently.

Anna Lee was a life-long member of the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church, joining Gladstone’s Fairview Christian Church after she, Jimmie, and J.R. moved to the Northland in 1958. There, she sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, volunteered in the church office, and was active in the work of the Women’s Fellowship. Besides games (card, board, or word) and horses, she loved music—classical to country, hand-crafted quilts and pillows, receiving and sending beautifully hand-written notes, reading, baking for her family and friends, and hosting book club and other such meetings in her welcoming home. She traveled the world with Jimmie and their friends, something she continued to do after his death in 1991: “Yes, I’ve been there” was often her first response to a new friend’s story.

Besides her beloved husband, Anna Lee was preceded in death by her siblings (Velma Wright Foster and Robert Wright) and their spouses, as well as three nieces and many cousins. She is survived by son J.R. Martin of Gladstone and the Philippine Islands, his wife Haide, stepson Sherwin Mendez, and niece Jane Foster Woodruff of Liberty, MO, all of whose lives she never stopped “organizing” and truly blessing.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at Fairview Christian Church next year, after the pandemic eases, but Anna Lee will now be laid to rest next to Jimmie at a graveside service on Saturday, November 28, 1:00 p.m., Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville, MO. Memorial gifts may be sent to the American Cancer Society or to Fairview Christian Church.