Obituary

Eva Mae Martin, age 99 of Cashion, AZ died February 17, 2020, in Surprise, AZ. She was born February 4, 1921, in St. John’s, AZ to Bertie and Laura Alice (Yockey) Amator. Eva was a second-generation Arizonian and grew up working on her family’s dairy farm in Tolleson with her sister and four younger brothers. She graduated from Tolleson High School at the age of 14. She and her husband Otis built their family home in Cashion in 1954, which was only five miles from the family farm where she grew up. She was always content with that fact. She was a dedicated and loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother to her family and they came first in everything that she did.

Eva was a wonderful cook. She worked as the Cafeteria Manager for the Littleton Elementary School District for 37 years. Her hot rolls and cinnamon rolls became well-known to several generations of children in the district. Many of the students that she fed still remember her delicious homemade lunches and would often stop by her home to let her know how much she was appreciated. When she retired she volunteered for the Avondale Senior Center and joined her women’s bowling league. A hard worker and fiercely independent, she mowed her own lawn well into her eighties and lived alone and drove herself until she was ninety. Kind and giving, she always asked if there were anything that she could do for you – even in her last days.

Eva liked to do crafts and enjoyed playing bridge, puzzles, and marble games. She loved animals and always fed the birds several times a day. Her goal was to live to be 100 – she almost made it! She had a great sense of humor. She often reminded her family and friends, “I may have my faults, but being wrong isn’t one of them.”

Eva is survived by her daughters, Sharon Donnafield, and Starlett Weltzin (Steve); 11 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and 14 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Otis William Martin; daughter, Linda Elaine Johnson; parents, Bertie and Laura Alice Amator; sister, Ernestine Shahan; and brothers, Glen, Bert, Gene, and Fritz.

A visitation will be at 10:00 am, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am, Friday, February 28, 2020, at Thompson Funeral Chapel, 926 S. Litchfield Road, Goodyear, AZ 85338. The funeral cortege will follow in procession to Holy Cross Cemetery, 9925 W Thomas Rd, Avondale, AZ 85392.