MAY BARBARA MARTIN

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MAY BARBARA MARTIN Born to Earthly life May 1, 1931 Born to Eternal life April 13, 2018 May Barbara Martin - May or Mayo to her friends and siblings, Nana to granddaughter Kiah, Auntie May to everyone else, passed away on Friday, April 13 at Morristown Memorial Hospital, New Jersey. Born May Barbara Davis Bell in Cabimas, Maracaibo, Venezuela on May 1, 1931, she was the second child and first daughter of Theophilus St. Clair and Angela Providencia Davis (Mamacita) who ultimately had 12 children (six boys and six girls). May is survived by her daughter and granddaughter Debra and Kiah Sandler, stepsons Glenn and Vaughan Martin; stepgrandchildren Avery, Marc and Jennilee; sisters Grace Blake, Mavis Escollies, Clare Proctor, Nora Matelis and Norma Zethoff, and brother Noel Davis. She was predeceased by brothers Theophilus, George, Norman, Robert and James Davis; husband George De La Grenade, and husband Jack Martin. With such a large and loving family she was also Aunt to a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-great-nieces all around the world in Germany, Portugal, Italy, Holland, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela. In 1938 May emmigrated from Venezuela to Trinidad at age seven with her mother and five brothers and sisters where she attended St. Joseph's Convent. In 1954 she married George (Georgie) De La Grenade and soon returned to her beloved Venezuela where she worked for Creole Oil and soon after gave birth to daughter Debra. May and Georgie returned to Trinidad and lived happily until his untimely death in 1967. For many years she worked as an Executive Administrative Assistant at the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and was active in the National Secretaries Association. She was a strong and independent woman who raised daughter Debra on her own terms. May immigrated in 1982 to Winnipeg to marry Jack Martin and here was able to pursue a love of music which she inherited from Mamacita who sang and played the cuatro. May joined the Winnipeg Steel Orchestra and was followed by Jack, daughter-in-law Christine, their sons and grandchildren. The entire Martin Posse was "beating pan" with the WSO. The band members were her family. May loved and cherished these relationships dearly. After Jackie's passing in 2004 May stayed in Winnipeg until 2011 when she immigrated to Freeport, NY with her sister Mavis, and siblings Grace and Noel nearby. May continued to enjoy her love of music, singing with her sisters, dancing and occasionally watching Lawrence Welk. In fact she was able to watch a five hour marathon of the show with Debra in her final days thanks to YouTube. Food was another passion of May's and she enjoyed holding forth on discussions regarding history, preparation and minimizing waste. May was gentle, kind, loving, friendly, funny and strong. She was intensely proud of her family and their accomplishments and felt privileged to be in Long Island with so many members nearby. She was especially grateful to her sister Mavis whose loving hands cared for her every need in her last years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in the name of May Martin to the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morris Plains, NJ. Service has already been held at The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Morristown, NJ on April 18.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 28, 2018