Martha Estella Brown

On May 13, 2026, she peacefully departed this life surrounded by her loving family, in Spring Hill, Florida.

Martha was born to sharecroppers where she was the seventh of 17 children. At the age of seven, she was responsible for keeping the fire burning in the wood stove at home, while her parents and older siblings worked the fields. She and her siblings would attend school until it was planting season or harvest time. She expressed how much she loved school, especially being on the track team. She was very disappointed when she had to leave school in the eighth grade to work the farm full-time.

Martha had her first child at the age of 17. Around 1959, she made the decision to leave the farm and head north in hopes of making a better life for herself. After working a variety of jobs, she landed a full-time position at Genpack in Middletown, New York, where she retired after 30 years. Shortly after retirement she purchased a home in Deltona, Florida in 2010.

Martha loved to cook for her family. She was known for her chicken and dumplings, pineapple upside down cake, and fried chicken. She especially enjoyed preparing the Thanksgiving meal. Sunday mornings at her house were always filled with the smell of bacon frying and the sounds of Mahalia Jackson belting out songs such as, “In the upper room.” Martha loved the Lord with all her heart. It was her custom to read her bible every night before she went to sleep. She said it was her faith in God that sustained her throughout her life.

She gave her family a sense of stability without even knowing it. You could count on her getting up every day, going to work early, doing her grocery shopping every Thursday, working overtime, and cleaning the entire house on her days off. She loved watching sports such as basketball and football. She also enjoyed traveling to her granddaughter’s volleyball tournaments where she always cheered the loudest. The games usually ended with her giving her granddaughters a “mineral oil bath”’ as she called it.

Left to cherish her memory are her five children: Herb, Barbara, Angela, James, Elwood, and grandchildren Herbie, Yvonne, Nick, Xavier, Orintia, Amanda, Fabian, Brittany, Owen, Jordan, Jasmine, Nicholas, and a host of great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by siblings James, Elizabeth, Carroll, Fannie, Susie, John, Rosa, Annie Pearl, Mary Louise, Sarah, Earnest, and Cora.

Although our hearts ache, the family echoes the words of Jesus, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you.” John 14:1

Visitation will be held at Turner Funeral Homes, Crematory and Cemetery, 14360 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609, US, on May 30, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, followed by a Service at the same location from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm.

Committal will take place at Florida Hills Memorial Gardens, 14354 SPRING HILL DR, SPRING HILL, FL 34609, US, on May 30, 2026, from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm, and a Reception will follow at Turner Funeral Homes, Crematory and Cemetery, 14360 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609, US, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.