Notes:
Data source is David and Martha Willis. [Deceased]
Martha Louise Willis
Martha Louise Mumma Willis, 96, of Richmond, TX went to her heavenly home on November 14, 2023.
She was born to Levi Bushnell Mumma (an electrical & mechanical engineer) and Emma Grace Martin (an English and Latin teacher) on March 31, 1927 in Cleveland, OH. She was baptized on June 5, 1927 at St. James Lutheran Church in East Cleveland, OH. She was confirmed at Calvary Lutheran Church in East Cleveland in April of 1941. She graduated from Willoughby High School in 1945 and then attended the Cleveland School of Art to pursue her life-long passion of painting.
Based on a hunch, her mother encouraged Martha to meet the love of her life, David Edwin Willis, on a blind date in 1946. Since she was slightly under 21 years old at the time of their wedding, her father consented to sign the permission forms and they were married on January 3, 1948.
David joined the Keystone Oil Company as party chief, doodle-bugging for oil in Louisiana, Texas, and California, which forced them to move over 20 times in the period of just a few short years. David moved the family to Michigan to begin graduate school in 1955. After he graduated, they moved to Wisconsin in 1970, California again in 1982, and then to Texas in 1992 where they retired. In spite of the fact that Martha had planned to live near her parents in Cleveland, OH, she supported David and painted her way through all these adventures.
They were blessed with 4 loving children, Karen Elizabeth, Mark Elliott, Marta Lou, and Seth Edwin. She and David also raised Karen’s daughter, Rebecca Louise, from age 5.
Martha was an extraordinary artist, skilled seamstress and hatmaker. She worked as a draftsman for her father in the late ’40s and briefly for Union Oil Company in the ‘80s.
Her faith and her family were most important to her and she felt that raising children was her greatest calling. She designed and created approximately 250 liturgical banners for various churches spread across the USA. She was a Stephen Minister, visited church members and prisoners, and served on many church committees. Her heart was in evangelism. This included staffing a suicide hotline; feeding migrant workers; sponsoring missionaries and international children through World Vision; bringing food and communion to shut-ins, counseling many friends and family members; as well as baking loaves of bread that were delivered to welcome guests who had visited their church. As a widow, she became concerned about and invested in Native American education programs. She wrote down: “My credentials are the calling God has on my life, and how that has allowed me to do the things I’ve done.”
Martha was preceded in death by her husband, David, daughter, Karen, and son in law, Lou. She is survived by her 3 children, Mark (Lynn), Marta, and Seth (Janet), 7 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, as well as nieces, nephews and other family and friends.
A Memorial Service for Martha will be held at Joy Lutheran Church, 717 FM 359, Richmond, TX 77406 at 2pm on Friday January 5th.
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