Death Notices
Sunday, September 14, 2008 12:24 AM PDT
Martha Mae
Norwood Brown
Aug. 9,1923 - Sept. 10, 2008
Ontario
Martha Mae Norwood Brown was born Aug. 9, 1923, at home in De Queen, Ark., to Ethyl and L.T. “Tull” Norwood. She attended school in De Queen, Ark., and graduated in 1941.
She married Jim A. Brown Dec. 19, 1941, in Nashville, Ark.
In February of 1942, they moved to McNary, Ariz., where Jim worked with his family in the lumber industry until he joined the Navy in November of 1942. After attending corp school and boot camp in Great Lakes, he was stationed at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where Martha accompanied him.
Judith Ann was born on Jan. 17, 1944, to Jim and Martha at the Naval Hospital in Annapolis, Md. When Jim was transferred to Hawaii, Martha and Judy stayed in De Queen, then McNary, until the war and Jim’s enlistment were over.
After Jim was discharged from the Navy, they leased a service station with Martha’s brother Ernie and his wife. When the lease was over, Jim bought a log truck to make a living. They bought their first house for $2,500.
Finally, Martha’s uncle and aunt, Roy and Myrtle Bearden, had moved to Burns, Ore., to work in the lumber industry and encouraged Jim and Martha to come to Oregon. Jim moved to Burns in January, 1947, with Martha and Judy following shortly thereafter. Their first home was a garage apartment with dirt floor on the Hospital Hill in Burns. They lived in other rentals in Burns before they saved enough to buy a home in Hines.
At that time, they became Sunday school teachers for the high school class at the First Baptist Church in Burns. Many of those they taught are now serving in the ministry.
Mary Lynn was born May 29, 1951. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to a new house in Burns. In 1957, they went in partnership with friends Ray and Luella Turley to build the Dairy Queen. Eventually, Jim and Martha bought out Ray and Luella and operated it until 1962, when they sold it to the Nemsics.
They purchased a duplex in Hines in 1961 and lived there from 1964 until 1966, when they bought the house on North Broadway in Burns. After the Dairy Queen was sold, Martha went to work for lifelong friends Dick and Dixie Runnels, who owned AL’s Furniture. The store eventually sold and became Wagner’s Furniture. Martha stayed on and worked for Bill Wagner until she retired in 1984. They moved to Ontario, Ore., to be closer to their daughters in 1998.
She loved to camp and roam the country in their motor home, but her first love is her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She taught Sunday school for many years at the Hines Conservative Baptist Church (Faith Baptist Church). Martha and Jim had a ministry for the airmen at the Radar Base in Burns for several years, and many have become lifelong friends.
Survivors include her husband, Jim, Ontario; daughters, Judy Schaefer, Ontario, Mary and Ron Carter, Keizer; brother, Perry Norwood, Malvern, Ark.; grandchildren, Marley and Tammy Robinson, Carlin, Nev., Ron and Marcie Robinson, Charlotte, N.C., Matt and Amber Schouviller, Portland, and Shawn and Pandi Schouviller, Houston; and great-grandchildren, Jimmy, Tawsha, Lyndsie, David, Emily, Kristen, Chelsey, Taylor and Tyler.
Funeral services were held Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, at Nyssa Baptist Fellowship. Interment was held at Hilltop Cemetery, Nyssa, Ore. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
