BETTY LOIS MARTIN

1941 — 2026

Betty Lois Martin died of severe sepsis January 12, 2026, in Greenville, Texas, at the age of 84. She was a longtime resident of Madisonville, Texas, and before that lived on rural land near Normangee, Texas.

Betty was born September 13, 1941, in Dallas, Texas, one of nine children (seven girls bookended by two boys) born to Lewis Ray Wilson and Mary Louise Fuller.

She married Kenneth Wayne Martin in July 1958 in Dallas. Together they had three children: Victor Ray, David Wayne, and Laurie Jean, all of whom predeceased their mother.

Kenneth was a career Marine and absent during the children’s upbringing for three tours in the Far East, including Vietnam, leaving the parenting duties to their mother during those years.

After completing his military career, Kenneth and Betty moved to Austin, Texas, so that he could attend the University of Texas. They divorced in 1988.