Jewel Claire "Tooter" (Martin) Washam Busby Martin

Where do you start when you’re writing about the life of a woman who was one year younger than women’s suffrage and seven years older than the world’s first TV station? Who was in her 30s when interstate-highway construction began and her 40s when the Beatles came to Texas (more on this later)?

You could easily spend this entire tribute focusing on the vast amount of history Jewel Claire Martin lived through in her 105-year life, which ended peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, Aug. 31, 2026, in a private, caregiving home in New Braunfels.

But the first thing on the to-do list shouldn’t be taking a trip in the Wayback Machine.

Let’s talk about that name.

Simply put, she really WAS a jewel; her parents, Henrietta and Elmo C. Martin, must have been prophetic. But she wasn’t the kind you’d find in a glass case.

First off, she was open-minded – determined to learn something new every day. As her granddaughter Amanda put it, “My grandmother isn’t afraid of an ornery cow, a rattlesnake or a new idea.”

Her list of activities and interests bore that out. In addition to farm and ranch work (which included shooting the occasional rattlesnake), she was a voracious reader, an accomplished seamstress and quilter and had a knack for interior design. She was as comfortable in high-fashion outfits as she was in jeans and work boots. And you’d almost never catch her not wearing her lipstick.

A skilled handywoman, she could fix anything – not surprisingly, since she grew up during the Depression, when money was scarce and nothing went to waste. The repairs she pulled off with wood glue and toothpicks were amazing.

What else? She liked cold tea, hot cars (according to the grandkids, she had a lead foot), hunting and fishing, Sudoku, and tearing out articles for the grandkids to read. And that’s only a partial list.

Atop this list would be her faith. She’s best described as a devout, non-judgmental progressive Methodist who believed in community service and helping those in need. Her faith and love for family were the driving forces in her life.

OK, back to the Beatles. The non-judgmental part came in handy when the Fab Four came to America early in 1964. Lots of her peers were put off by their bowl-cut long hair. Not Jewel. She thought that as long as it was clean and shiny, what’s the problem?

This may help explain why, with the band en route to Dallas for a show on Sept. 18,1964, she was willing to drive her daughters 300 miles from Kenedy to experience first-hand this raucous, initial blast of Beatlemania.

Born Aug. 10, 1921 at the family home in Leesville, Texas (she entered the world with a head of white blond hair), Jewel hit the ground running. Before starting elementary school, she helped her family with farming and working cattle (the latter proved to be a lifelong occupation) while finding time to learn how to ride horses bareback. “How old were you at the time?” she was asked. “Oh, about 5,” she said.

That outdoor work continued to intertwine with schoolwork. At age 14, she and her younger brother, Elmo Clinton Martin Jr. (aka Junior), were part of a South Texas cattle drive – one of the last in Texas history, as cars soon drove cattle off the trails.

How good was her horsemanship? Sunday, the horse she rode on the drive, was known for bucking off pretty much every rider – except her.

Graduating from Kenedy High School in 1938 after finishing 11th grade (that’s as far as young men and women went back then), she set a goal of being a careerwoman and disavowed any romantic interest. That journey took her from record-keeping at cattle auctions in Kenedy to working as a bank teller in Rosebud, TX; to landing a job with Asgrow Seed Co. in San Antonio.

One day in 1949, Jewel’s boss told her that he had hired a new salesman. She said she wasn’t interested – until a tall, blond Tennessean named Joe Thomas Washam walked in and changed her mind and her life.

They married on July 8, 1950; two daughters, Lydia Jo and Sue Elaine, followed on Aug. 16, 1951 and Sept. 28, 1953, respectively.

After bouncing from San Antonio (where Lydia was born) to Crystal City to Lubbock (where Sue was born) as Joe worked for a variety of seed companies, Jewel and Joe returned to Kenedy in the mid-’50s and founded their own company – the Washam Seed Co. To say this was a joint venture was an understatement; each day, Jewel had the office in full swing by the time Joe was hitting the road to do sales calls.

The company thrived, developing a new hybrid seed called Six-Shooter (a name inspired by the town’s rough ’n’ tumble past). Then tragedy struck; Joe passed away suddenly on Dec. 28, 1965 at age 42.

Until the day she died, Jewel let everyone know that Joe was the love of her life.

She then began a challenging life as a widow and single mom by reverting to something she had done well. She joined her sister Ioleene Ahrens and sister in-law Peggy Martin as a teller at First Nichols National Bank in Kenedy, where she worked until her retirement.

As for her personal life, more than a decade of widowhood ended when she married Walter Clarence Busby, an ag teacher whom she had known since high school, in 1978. They enjoyed traveling, camping and a whole lot of dancing in a 33-year marriage that ended with Walter’s death in 2011.

Not long after that, she went to court to reclaim her proud, original last name: Martin.

As the years piled up, she began to realize that being a superager was a mixed blessing. “I’ve lost all my friends,” she said wistfully. Then she perked up: “I guess I’ll just have to make new ones!”

And so she did.

Survivors include her daughters, Lydia Jo Washam-Morgan and her husband, Paul Morgan, and Sue Elaine Washam Johnson and her husband Robert Johnson; three grandchildren, Amanda Jo Washam Johnson; John Thomas (J.T.) Washam-Morgan and his wife, Isiana; and Clinton Hale Washam Johnson and his wife, Brooke; and lots of beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elmo C. and Henrietta Martin; her brother, Elmo Clinton Martin Jr. and wife Peggy; and sister Ioleene Martin Ahrens and husband Leroy Ahrens.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the New Braunfels Food Bank at https://nbfoodbank.funraise.org/fundraiser/jewel-martin-memorial.

Public Visitation will be held at Zoeller Funeral Home, 615 Landa St, New Braunfels, Texas 78130, on September 4, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Tooter's Funeral Service will take place at Dewville United Methodist Church, 5665 County Rd 121, Nixon, TX 78140, on September 5, 2026, at 2:00 pm, followed by the Burial Service at Leesville Cemetery, 6077 County Rd 155, Leesville, TX, on September 5, 2026, at 3:30 pm.