Mrs. Kate Martin

1926 - 2017

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Mrs. Kate Purvis Martin, age 90, passed away on February 6, 2017, at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Martin was born in Mendes, Ga., to Harley Edward Purvis and Bennie Lou Tootle Purvis on August 26, 1926. She graduated high school in Glenville, Ga., in 1943 and attended Armstrong College in Savannah for two years before being recruited to teach high school back in Glenville during the years of World War II. Some of her students were older than she, and she learned early on to command her students' attention and respect through her mastery of and enthusiasm for her subject combined with high expectations for the students' performance and concern for their well-being.
Kate met John Staten Martin Jr., who had just returned from service in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific and European War theatres, on a blind date. They married on September 16, 1946, and together attended Georgia Teachers College (Georgia Southern University), graduating in 1950. That same year, Kate was selected as the only married May Queen in the history of the college. Later she would return to earn her master's and sixth-year degrees in science education. After teaching for one year in Sylvania, the couple moved to Mendes, where John taught at Glenville High School and they began their family with the arrival of Rebecca in 1953 and John Edward in 1956.
In 1959, the family moved to Statesboro, where they made their home thenceforth. John taught at Marvin Pittman Laboratory School and then at Georgia Southern University, while Kate, after their two children were in school, taught biology, chemistry and physics at Southeast Bulloch High School in Brooklet. She taught there from 1962 until her retirement in 1987.
Kate was a committed and talented educator whose students often excelled at state and national-level science fair competitions. During her years at Southeast Bulloch, she was honored as Star Teacher and Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher for the Coastal Empire Section of the American Chemical Society. Throughout her teaching career and after retirement, Kate's former students came to visit and thank her for the solid foundation in science she provided them.
Kate and John shared a deep Christian faith and were active members of the First Baptist Church of Statesboro, where she served on various committees and taught the Stewart Sunday School Class for many years. She was like a second mother to many of her class members who called her ""Miss Kate,"" even as she fondly referred to them as ""my girls."" Kate was also active and served as an officer in the Bulloch County Chapter of the Retired Teachers Association and served as president of the Woodlawn Terrace Homeowners Association for many years. Kate and her family enjoyed camping and traveling across the continental United States, and she and John also made trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Israel and Europe in retirement. They were avid gardeners and she was a gifted seamstress, who made most of her own clothes and those of her daughter, Rebecca.
Kate was a legendary cook and loved to entertain with lavish spreads of home-cooked food and scrumptious desserts. She also cooked delicious meals to share with friends who were ill or otherwise in need of this caring attention. After her husband, John, passed away in January 2014, Kate continued to live in the home they built and had shared since 1963. In her last years, she was assisted by several wonderful care givers, Napoleon Young and Gracie Williams, and especially enjoyed the kind help provided by Kathy Nesmith.
Along with her husband, Kate was preceded in death by her brothers, Mattox Lafayette Purvis and Harley Edward Purvis.
She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca Martin (Paul) Nagy of Gainesville, Fla.; her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. John Edward (Debbie) Martin of Statesboro; her sister, Fran Mauney of Atlanta, Ga.; two sisters-in-law, Anne Purvis of Hernando, Miss.; and Ann (Russell) Mosely of Vidalia; her grandchildren, John Edward (Angela) Martin of Athens, Ga.; Kate Martin (Billy) Shiver of Lyons, Ga.; and Rebecca Maurine Martin of Statesboro; great-grandsons, John Bennett Martin of Athens and William Staten Shiver of Lyons. Many beloved nieces and nephews also survive.
The family will receive visitors on Friday, February 24th, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home in Statesboro.
The funeral will be held on Saturday, February 25th, at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Statesboro with Dr. John Waters officiating.
The body will lie in state one hour prior to the service.
Interment will follow in Eastside Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons, Johnny Martin Jr. and Billy Shiver; and nephews, Ken Mosley, Richard Oliver, Dalton Dowdy and John Cornelson.
The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church Nursing Ministry or Building Fund, 108 North Main Street, Statesboro, GA 30458. Donations may also be made to the donor's choice of charity.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com.
Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home & Crematory of Statesboro is in charge of arrangements.

Statesboro Herald, February 22, 2017
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