Maud was put in a nursing home in Heber Springs when she could no longer be cared for at home. Hubert could no longer drive safely, so he would ride almost every day with his son, Cloyse, who carried the mail, to Heber Springs to visit Maud. He continued to tend his garden and cook and take care of himself. One day he was found dead at home lying across the bed in the bedroom by the back door. The garden looked freshly worked and his hoe was leaning up by the back door, so it is assumed that he had chest pain while he was doing work that he enjoyed, came in, lay down and died. Most of us would have trouble improving on that method of leaving this world.
When you think of all the skills Hubert acquired in his life, understanding machinery, reading, running a business, community leader, photographer, gardening, cooking, to name some of them, I think that indicates he had a great "zest for life." Right up to the end of his life, his eyes and ears were wide open to learn something new and to participate in everything that went on around him.
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The Hubert Martin Family |
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Seated: Hubert and Maud Martin |
From "Martin Family Stories" by Cleta Stuart Porterfield
Sources for the information given, in addition to my memory, include:
Written notes by my mother, Elva Martin Stuart, Conversations with Hubert and Maud’s children, A newspaper article about their 50th wedding anniversary, Obituaries, Anecdotes written by my brother, Charles Stuart, after hearing them from Hubert and Maud’s children.
Norton family information from Ava Sutherland Baker
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