Martha Elizabeth Vann's Obituary
Martha Elizabeth Vann was born on May 17, 1939 in Buchanan, Georgia. She was the middle child of Homer Harden and Sara Elizabeth Harden. Martha had two brothers and two sisters – J.C., Max, Rachel and Patsy. Martha was an obedient, loving child who was always responsible and hard working. The Harden family moved to Atlanta, GA when Martha was around 6 years old.
Martha met the love of her life when she was 14. Martha was riding her bike along with two girlfriends when a new neighbor, Thomas Junior Vann, blocked their path with his bicycle and introduced himself. Junior was immediately taken with Martha’s beautiful black hair, gorgeous face and deep blue eyes but he found out that she was a wonderful, sweet and generous person inside as well. Martha and Junior were married on December 22, 1956 when Martha was 17 and Junior was 18.
Martha and Junior were the couple who put PDA’s on the map. They have always held hands, even when it embarrassed their children. They have always enjoyed just being together, even if it’s just to watch television, listen to music or read the newspaper. Over their 67 years of marriage, their love grew even stronger. They were always inseparable but even more since they retired and Martha’s health declined. They are truly the happily married couple that every couple hopes to be.
The young Vann family grew quickly. Their first son, Kenneth Eugene, was born in January 1958. Gregory Alan joined the family in November 1962. The family was complete in March 1968 when Rebecca Elizabeth was born. Martha was a very devoted wife and mother who always put her family first. She quit her job after Ken was born and she was a full-time Mom until her youngest, Becky, was a teenager.
Martha was a great Mom. Even though she loved a clean, tidy house, she put her children first. She allowed her teenaged son, Ken, to tear down and reassemble a greasy car engine in the middle of her immaculate living room because of the weather. This was very loving because their family of five lived in a small 2 bedroom house in northwest Atlanta and the living room had hardwood floors. There was no den or basement so the living room was the only option. Fortunately, the family moved to a much larger home with a two car garage in 1978 so Martha’s living room was no longer needed for engine work.
Martha showed real love and patience dealing with the menagerie of assorted pets. One of our favorite family stories is Martha’s relationship with the boys’ pet rooster. They found a tiny chick that fell off a truck near their house and the boys raised the chick to be a pet. Imagine everyone’s surprise when the chick grew into a large, feisty and territorial rooster. The rooster took over the fenced backyard, even dominating the two pet dogs, Daisy and Lassie. The rooster was so aggressive that he perched on Daisy’s head every night to keep warm. Martha used the clothesline in the backyard to dry laundry, which put her directly in the rooster’s path. Fortunately, Martha was young and agile because the rooster would chase her back into the house almost every time she stepped out the back door. She didn’t make the boys get rid of the rooster but they had to help guard her during laundry time. The boys also kept several pet gerbils for many years. Like most women, Martha was not particularly fond of gerbils but she made sure the kids took good care of them.
Martha was very proud of all three of her children. Her sons, Ken and Greg, inherited the Harden genes for fixing just about anything, including cars, appliances, heating and air systems. She appreciated how much both of her sons helped throughout the years – they were always willing to drop everything to help their parents. During her later years, some of Martha’s favorite meals included steaks and hamburgers expertly grilled by her “baby boy”, Greg.
Martha was not a big talker but she was always ready to brag on her baby, Becky. Martha would tell everyone that Becky was beautiful, smart, dependable, responsible, hardworking, successful and a great mother to her own son. For the past several years, Martha depended heavily on Becky to assist with medical and business issues. When declining health forced her move into assisted living, Martha and Junior relied on Becky more than ever. Becky took excellent care of her Mom and Dad with emotional and practical support. She stayed on top of every detail as liaison with The Pearl so that Martha received the best care possible.
Martha’s most important relationship was with our Heavenly Father, Jehovah God. Martha was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses on November 22, 1966. She never wavered in her faith or devotion to Jehovah. Martha took Jesus’ words at Matthew 22:37, 38 to heart:
(Matthew 22:37, 38) . . .“‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. . .
Martha worked hard for Jehovah in many different ways. In the mid 1970’s, the Northwest Congregation built a new Kingdom Hall on Davis Place. Martha painted the “high side” of the Kingdom Hall by herself with two sisters holding the ladder. Martha was also part of the Kingdom Hall renovation project in the fall of 2007. Even though she was 68 years old, she was on the “cleanup crew”, led by Junior.
Martha also hosted the weekly book study and Saturday morning service at her house from the late 1960’s until 1975. That was a lot of work because the home was small. She had to rearrange furniture and put out several folding chairs every time the group met. Martha and Junior also expanded their driveway to accommodate the circuit overseer’s travel trailer and to provide more parking for the book study group.
Martha’s faith was put to the test in 1976 when she was participating in the door-to-door ministry on Deering Road in northwest Atlanta. A car ran over Martha, crushing her left foot. Even with extensive surgery to save her foot, she was crippled for the rest of her life. Martha showed tremendous strength of character because she never let this slow her down. Unless you noticed her special orthopedic lift shoe, you wouldn’t know that anything was wrong. She endured a lot of pain without complaining. She even had a second foot surgery in 1993, but she never let it stop her from serving Jehovah, engaging in the ministry, taking care of her family or working full time.
Martha passed away on January 13, 2024 at The Pearl Assisted Living in Dallas GA after a long, courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease that lasted over 15 years. Martha is precious to Jehovah and she is deeply loved by everyone in her orbit. Martha was confident that Jehovah’s promise of the resurrection will happen very soon. We all look forward to that joyful day when Martha and Junior will be reunited and joined by all of their loved ones.
Martha was preceded in death by her parents, Homer and Elizabeth Harden, sister, Rachel O’Neal, son, Ken Vann, grandson, Ashley Vann.
Martha is survived by her husband of 67 years, Thomas Junior Vann, son Greg Vann (Stacie) and daughter Rebecca Polston (Willie). Other survivors include brothers, J.C. Harden (Krista) and Max Harden (Mary), sister Patsy Dodgen, grandsons Brannon Vann (Katie), Dalton Polston (Kirsten) and Buddy Polston (Pamela), granddaughters Jessica Vann (Josh) and Jennifer Vann (Jeremy), daughter-in-law Gina Vann, brother-in-law Howard Vann, Donna Vann. Great-grandchildren include Oliver Vann, Landon Vann, Lilly Rain Vann and Jasper Vann. Martha is also survived by several cousins, nieces, nephews and friends along with her spiritual family, the entire Northwest Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The family would like to extend special thanks for the love and support of the care team, the Trinity hospice team and the physical therapy team at The Pearl in Dallas GA. Thank you for taking care of Martha and treating her like your family. Martha loved you all.
The family would also like to thank the brothers and sisters from the Northwest Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses for your love and ongoing support during the last year. We thank our loving heavenly Father, Jehovah, for the resurrection hope and for all of you!!
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 17th at 1:00 p.m. at Davis-Struempf Funeral Home Chapel. Gordon Guthrie will officiate the service. The family will receive friends for visitation from 11:00 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, 1/17. Interment at Georgia Memorial Park will follow the funeral service.
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