In Memory of
Grace Carver Martin
1920 - 2005

Grace Carver Martin passed from this life to her eternal reward on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005. She was more than just a member of Christian Challenge, she was Bro. Buddy's mother! She will be missed but all of her family and friends know they will see her again in heaven and look forward to that reuniting. Below is an email sent by Bro. Buddy to members of his family. It is reproduced fully for your edification. You can also hear the entire funeral here or just the sermon here.

Hi Family,

Judy asked that I send a 'note' on mama's funeral like I did for Uncle Austin. It will be my pleasure to do that. But I'm afraid this is going to be much more than a note. There are a number of things I want to share about mama and the funeral. In my 40 years of ministry and in conducting funerals, I've never heard a funeral message like that which Nathan provided. It was a narration on mama's life, interwoven with the gospel story.

In fact his message was so awesome that a number of people wanted to know if the service was taped. We found out later that it was. The funeral home provided us with a cassette copy. So if any of you would like a copy of the service, send me your name and address. We make see that you get a copy. I'll share more on the unique service in my personal remarks below.

First is the obituary. Second are Nathan's sermon notes. And third I'll share some personal remarks. Like I said --- This is going to be more than a note.

(1) Obituary ...

In loving memory of MRS. GRACE CARVER MARTIN
January 23, 1920 to March 27, 2007

Funeral Service:
10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 29, 2005
The chapel of Hixson Brothers-Pineville

Officiating:
Revs. Nathan Martin and Lane Fletcher

Internment:
Campbell Creek Cemetery-Sharp

Survived by:
Husband, James Floyd Martin of Pineville
Son, Lawrene E. "Buddy" Martin and wife, Betty, of Pineville.
Daughters, Bertie Martin Wise of Mora, Julia Ann Martin of Cloutierville, and Bonnie Martin Jowers of Pineville.
Step-son, Gary Wde Martin of Flatwoods.
Brothers, Grover Carver of Monterey, CA and Cullen Carver of Anacoco.
Sisters, Cleola Tilly of Anacoco, Claudia Willis of Lake Charles, and Lural Dodson of Shreveport.
10 Grandchildren 23 Great Grandchildren 1 Great, Great Granddaughter.

Preceded in death by:
Parents, Marshall Rite Carver and Frances Julianne O'Bannion Carver; brothers, Marshall Carver, Homer Carver, and Austin Carver; sisters, Hazel Cryer, eulah Cryer and Cecillia Hester; grandson, David Martin; great grandson, Ross Martin

Memorials may be made to:
Christian Challenge, 300 Pearce Road, Pineville, LA 71360
......................

(2) Nathan's sermon notes....

Funeral for Grace Martin (Hear the sermon here)

Thank you for being here today to celebrate the life of Grace Carver Martin. And I pray we do CELEBRATE for it was a life worth celebrating! 85 years, 2 months and 4 days! Wow! The Bible tells us that the time allotted to a man is 70 years, and perhaps 80 if they’re especially strong, but 85 years … thank you Jesus!

And what a life it was! Many of you, when you read the paper were surprised to learn that Grandma Grace was a welder during WWII. She was our own “Rosie the Riveter!” The obituary also said that she was a former manager of Diana’s Dress Shop in Alexandria. But those two things do not summarize her life. They are only a couple of the many highlights of a life well-lived. In fact, her life was one of those that could have been made into a movie better than “Fried Green Tomatoes” or “The Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood.”

Grandma Grace was born in 1920, a long time ago, almost in another world. She got married as a teenager (15?) and had two children by the time she was 20, not uncommon in those days. When the war broke out, she moved to Virginia where some other family members were and worked as a sheet metal worker in the shipyards around Portsmouth, VA. At some point she and Grandpa Red had divorced. Later her brother Grover, a sailor aboard the USS Indianapolis, introduced her to Harry Benning, who served with him aboard the Indianapolis. Grace and Harry were engaged. Unfortunately the USS Indianapolis was sunk by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea in what has been called the Worst Naval Disaster in US History. Of the 1,196 men aboard, only 316 survived. Harry Benning was not one of the survivors.

By this time, Grandma Grace was living in California, where several of her siblings were also living. She met and married Ross Figeroa and from that marriage my cute little aunt Julia was born. Unfortunately the marriage did not survive and in 1949 Grandma Grace moved back to Louisiana where she remarried my Grandpa Red in 1950. During this time my beautiful aunt Bonnie was born, but I won’t tell you which year because I don’t want to tell you how old she is.

Unfortunately some of the same struggled returned and their marriage came to an end. For the next 27 years Grandma lived as a single lady, enjoying her family, reveling in her grandchildren, but still with a little bit of loneliness inside.

All that ended when Aunt Bonnie introduced her to James Floyd Martin, a widower and WWI veteran. Believe it or not, at the age of 70 my grandmother and Pawpaw Floyd tied the knot! Like giggly newlyweds. He opened her doors, and she let him! In fact, whenever they got somewhere, she’d just quietly sit in the front seat until he came over and opened her door for her. (I wonder if he ever forgot? If so, probably only once! <G>) Pawpaw Floyd, thank you for loving Grandma Grace so much!

Grandma had been born into a very religious family. She had a relationship with the Lord but struggled at times with the demands of religion. There was a time she was out of church, but she was never out of touch with God. In fact, I’ve often heard my father say that his earliest childhood memories are of her kneeling with him beside his bed, teaching him to pray, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless … ”

There was a time when Grandma Grace traveled as part of a revival team with her sisters and brother. They had a singing group and Grandma played the piano, something her grandchildren and great grandchildren may not have known.

But Grandma often struggled with her faith. Or with the religious requirements that she felt constrained under. But later in life she became more settled in her faith. She was a member of the Lena Church of God for many years and after she and Grandpa Floyd moved to Pineville, they became members of our church where you’d find them on the second row on the left every Sunday.

Grandma grew in Grace. It was beautiful to see her continue to grow in faith and as a person. She had been raised in a different era and sometimes still struggled with issues of race. But in her old age she began to see God’s love for all people and embraced people of all colors and races. She had a special place in her heart for Bro. Eddie and Sis. Ruby. And I remember her telling me how proud she was of our mayor and what a good job he was doing. There is always room to grow and Grandma never stopped growing in grace.

One thing Grandma always struggled with was death. Death scared her. I don’t know if it was her strict religious upbringing or what but she had a hard time when others died and was afraid of death. She may have struggled with some of the early teaching about having to be good enough to get to heaven. I don’t know if perhaps she didn’t always worry about meeting expectations. But death was something that she had a hard time with. Up until just over a month ago. One day, after having come out of the hospital, she was sitting in her living room on the couch, enjoying some quiet time with the Lord. As she sat there, perhaps meditating, she later told us that it seemed as if heaven came down and filled the room. She was so aware of God’s presence and love for her. She later told my dad that she didn’t have words to describe it, but if that’s what heaven was like, she couldn’t wait to get there. In that one moment, God took away all of her fears, all of her anxieties, all of her worries about being good enough or pretty enough or having done enough. In that moment God’s perfect love cast out all of her fears. And that moment changed her. The last month and a half of her life she lived with a grace and confidence that just exuded out. Her point of view had changed. Her past had been forgiven. Her future was secure. It was all ok.

And so it was that on Easter morning when all over America Christians were gathering together to celebrate a risen Savior, Grace Carver Martin celebrated Him in person! She went to sleep the night before, and sometime during the night her spirit heard the words, “Child, arise!” And Grace Carver Martin opened her eyes, not to see the face of her loving husband, Floyd, but to see the face of her loving Savior, Jesus. Face to face. She is now experiencing Jesus in a way we can scarcely imagine. She had gotten a taste of heaven on earth and it was good.

Ps 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.” That might seem like an odd scripture but think about it. God’s greatest desire and the longing of his heart is for His children to be with Him where they will be protected from worry, fear, anxiety and tears. He longs to comfort His children in person. When we die, the veil of separation is removed and we are with Him face to face. It’s like that incredible moment when you’ve been waiting for your loved one to come home from a long trip. You watch their plane land and you longingly stare down the walkway, hoping to catch a glimpse of them getting off the plane. Your heart races as you see them coming near the gate. The phone calls and letters have been good, but nothing replaces the feeling of wrapping them in your arms as you wet their shoulder with your tears, so glad to finally have them home with you. That’s how Jesus feels about his children’s death. What we perceive from this side as death, losing someone, missing someone, on the other side is a glorious homecoming! This was a precious death! Grace Carver Martin was welcomed into her Savior’s arms. His nail- pierced hands caressed her face as He held her close to His pierced side. She was home! Never to leave! Forever to be with the One who loved her more than anyone else!

We can only imagine her fullness of joy. She is now perfectly loved. She now fully experiences God and His acceptance and love. No more struggles. No more fear. There’s only one thing that can make this picture complete. That’s if every one that she loved would be there with her.

Some of you continue to struggle with some of the same things she struggled with. It’s just so hard to be good enough to go to heaven. But we need to understand something. We were never called to be good enough. Grandma Grace finally learned that lesson. At the end of her life she finally learned what her name meant. It meant that God loved her so much and all she had to do was accept that love. Not earn it. Not work for it. Accept it. She wasn’t named Grace on accident. I believe that God directed her parents to give her that name, because she was going to need it. And you need it. And I need it.

Eph 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

It’s called “Amazing Grace”. We can’t earn it. We can’t pay for it. We can’t be good enough to receive it. Here’s the amazing part. God love you … just as you are. You are valuable to Him … just as you are. You are precious to Him … just as you are. He longs to have a relationship with you, to be intimate with you and for you to know Him … just as you are, starting where you are. He’ll take you from where you are to where you need to be. But He’ll do that. You don’t have to.

If I could leave you with one thought it would be this … You can’t save yourself. You’ll never be good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, holy enough. You can’t do it. If you could, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die on the cross. What you need to do is to accept God’s amazing Grace. To become a child of Grace. And you do that by faith. You can enter into a relationship with Jesus by grace through faith. And you won’t have to be afraid of dying either.

Grace Carver Martin became a child of Grace. I pray that you too will be children of Grace.
...............

(3) Personal remarks ---

I realize that some of our family were unable to attend mama's funeral. Certainly we understand. But perhaps I can help a bit by sharing some of my thoughts.

Mama passed away Easter morning in her sleep. I've often said that if I had a choice on my departure, let it be in my sleep, or let it be while I am in the pulpit. But that isn't our choice to make. Whatever the case may be, I do look forward to my upward call from Jesus.

Both the wake and the funeral were awesome. The funeral home was literally packed with family and friends. So much love was shared. As I looked at Aunt Lural, Aunt Claudi, and Uncle Cullen, my heart overflowed with love for them. Then I saw a number of my cousins, both on the Martin and the Carver side, and so many friends, I thought of what a wonderful family we have. The mayor and some of the city council members were with us. (They are friends of the family.)

I've often shared with my children just how unique the Carver family is. You rarely find a family like this one. What a privilege to be born into such a family. In fact my mom use to sit me down and talk about her family, the Carvers. She instilled in me a deep appreciation for her people. She also instilled in me that I could do something with my life. Mama was always proud that I had become a preacher. And what a privilege to be pastor to your own mom. : )

When it came time for the funeral, the chapel was standing room only. The prelude music was tender. Next my son-in-law, Marco Youngblood, and a member of our congregation, Bud Frederick, sang, 'Go Rest High On That Mountain.' I so much love that song.

Lane Fletcher then shared mom's obituary and personal remarks about mom. Lane Fletcher's mom is Bernette Fee. He is related to the Cryers of Lily. On the Martin side his dad, Gus Fletcher, was my first cousin. Lane's grandmother, Allie Martin Fletcher, and my dad were brother and sister.

Next Jessica Youngblood, my son-in-law's sister, sang 'With Hope' by Steven Chapman. Jessica has a voice that is beautiful beyond words.

Here is something you may find interesting. Mama loved fiddle music. When Nathan took the pulpit, he introduced two more of my Martin side cousins, Jerome Fletcher on the guitar, and Jamesette Kile on the fiddle. They played 'Amazing Grace.' Of course weeping was heard throughout the peoples.

Nathan then returned to the pulpit to share his message as a tribute to mama. Everyone was transfixed. I thought to myself, 'Lord, how I wish this could be recorded.' Later we found that it had been.

Nathan is such a tender and caring man. He has a way of bringing forth laughter at the right moment. And so laughter and tears met together at mama's funeral.

The passing by mama's casket was filled with weeping. I'll not go there. My heart is still too tender. Every time I think about mama, and its pretty much 100% of the time, I want to cry. But not over where she is. I am going to miss her so much. Every Sunday morning in church, I would say to her, 'Mama, you are so pretty.' She would respond, 'I know it.' But the way she said, 'I know it' was like a little girl about to giggle. It was always so precious.

I cannot fail to mention the pall bearers. They were grandsons. Included were my son, Andre, and my son-on-law, Marco Youngblood, Bertie's two sons, Ricky and Terry, and her son-in-law, Eddie Easter, and Julia's son, Michael.

Note: The obituary along with mom's picture can be viewed at:
http://www.funeralquestions.com/obits/hixson/memorial.asp?listing_id=37094

From Pineville we headed to Campbell Creek Cemetery. (Several miles.) Nathan and Lane did the graveside service. The family afterwards met at dad's son's home for the after-funeral-moment.

Thank you Judy, for asking for the note. That's about it for now.

Love all of you more than words can tell,

Buddy
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*