Mrs. Frances Fisher Martin

Frances Eugenia Fisher Martin, 90, of West Point, Virginia, passed away on February 25, 2013. She was born at Ashland Farm, her parents’ home in New Kent County, on May 14, 1922, to the late Hugh Pearson and Sue Haxall Spencer Fisher. She was also preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Nancy Sue Martin; her devoted husband, Percy Hart (P.H.) Martin, Jr.; her brother, Dr. Hugh P. Fisher, Jr.; her sisters, Harriett Minor Fisher and Ella Mae Fisher Johnson; and her step-mother, Alice Virginia Fisher. Those left to cherish her memory are her daughters and their husbands, Patricia Hart Martin Todd and John Y. Todd, III, of Charlotte, N.C., and Jane Fisher Martin Dunaway and L. Stuart Dunaway of Kilmarnock, Va. Survivors also include four grandchildren, Hugh Campbell Kelley (Caroline) of Quincy, Mass., Thomas Hurst Kelley (Jennifer) of Richmond, Va., Susan Todd Walker (Gary) of Charlotte, N.C., and John Martin Todd of Monroe, N.C., and nine great-grandchildren: Lawson Hart Walker, Isabel Natialy Kelley, Schuyler Brooks Kelley, Saoirse Noelle Kelley, Lorelei Spencer Kelley, Rowan Christabel Kelley, Felix Atwater Kelley, Merritt Ware Kelley and Rosalie Violet Kelley. She is also survived by a sister, Mabel Fisher Ward, and a brother, George Wallace Fisher; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Martin Walker Krewatch and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Frances graduated from New Kent High School as valedictorian of her class in 1938 and from Mary Washington University in 1942, where she was president of Le Cercle Francais. She taught in various positions for many years in the King William County and West Point schools. She was an active member of First Baptist Church of West Point for 65 years where she was formerly a Sunday School teacher and superintendent, and a member of the Church Council, Church History Committee, Centennial Committee, and Finance Committee. She was involved in leadership positions for all age groups in the mission work of the Baptist Women of her local church, the Kate Gravatt Group and the Dover Baptist Association WMU. She was a past president of the Monday Club of West Point, former president and volunteer in the King William County Unit of the American Cancer Society, former chairman of the Pamunkey Regional Library Board of Trustees, former president of the King William/King and Queen Education Association and former member of the Board of Trustees of Averett University. Her many hobbies included gardening, sewing, cooking, and church and community activities. The family will receive friends 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26, at Vincent Funeral Home, 417 11th St., West Point, Va. The memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, at First Baptist Church of West Point, Va. Interment will be private. The family is deeply grateful to many friends and caregivers who offered loving and compassionate support to our mother during her illness. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Building Fund of the First Baptist Church, PO Box N, West Point, VA 23181; or West Point Volunteer Fire Dept., PO Box X, West Point, VA 23181.

Mrs. Frances Fisher Martin

May 14, 1922 - February 25, 2013