Obituary for Martha Frances Grigsby
Martha Frances Johnson Grigsby, 97, Cleveland, died December 4, 2020 at St. Vincent’s Blount Hospital. She battled the Covid virus. Our appreciation is extended to the nurses and doctors at St. Vincent’s Blount for the respect and kindness shown to her and the family during this time. We are grateful for the years of care and love given to her by Phillip Cleveland, Casey White, and the staff at Magnolia House in Oneonta.
As her daughter, my desire is to tell my mother’s Blount County story.
Martha lived a full and eventful life. She was born in 1923, after the Great Pandemic and World War I. She heard family stories of the tragic deaths from both events. She married Odell before World War II began. She and my dad spent many hours on the Locust Fork River where he grew up. She lived to know about the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, the battles in the Philippine Islands, Cuban Missile crisis, man’s first walk on the moon, election of a Catholic president and the first black president.
She was a charter member of West Side Baptist Church in Cleveland. The church was founded in her deceased parent’s home on Tuscaloosa Road. Later, a church was built on former Roberts property where she grew up. My brother, Jerry, and I played in the fields that would become the cemetery.
Martha learned to cook on a wood burning stove when she was just a child. She helped wash clothes in a black wash pot over an open fire. She kept milk cold in the waters near the old Moss Bridge. She told stories of her pioneer ancestors, the Roberts, Johnson, Green and Moss families. Some came to Blount County as early as 1819.
She never learned to be “too tired” or “too sick” to take care of others. She took care of family members as they aged, became sick, and died. During all the events of life, she had time to cook, clean, raise two children, have a garden, freeze and can, and go to church on Sunday. Throughout all this, she visited the sick, the nursing homes, went to funerals, fed the preachers, loved and rescued cats, and made banana pudding.
Mother believed in traditions. No matter what the family crisis, and there were many, we got together on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She prayed and gave thanks for our family and food. She believed in “Decoration Sundays” at Green’s Chapel, Austin Creek, Cleveland Methodist and Dailey’s Chapel. She loved our family history. She could tell stories about those who had passed on and how we were related. She documented Blount County with old pictures and newspaper clippings stored in boxes.
She was the inspiration for my first book.
Martha weathered all the storms of life with her faith in God. She believed her God would never give her more than she could bear. In our last conversation, she told me not to worry about her future. “I have lived a good life and I know where I am going. I’ll be with Odell and Jerry and see everybody again.”
Her parents were Albert and Anna Roberts Johnson. She had two younger brothers, Bud and Charles, both deceased. She was married for 61 years to Odell Curtis Grigsby, now deceased. She had two children, Jerry Grigsby, deceased, and Darnell Grigsby Whited. Her grandson’s are Bart Rainey and Anthony Grigsby. She had five great-grandchildren, a long list of relatives and friends who survive her. They each know their importance in her life.
Because of the rising risk of the Covid virus in Blount County, it was decided to have a private ceremony on Tuesday December 8, 2020 at the Blount County/ Cleveland Funeral Home, with burial at West Side Baptist Church, Cleveland, AL. Mother’s faith touched many lives. It is the family’s hope the hundreds of relatives and friends understand the need for limited attendance. A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.
Written by Darnell Whited
To honor her memory, donations may be made to any of the following:
West Side Baptist Church Cleveland, Al 35049
Blount County Animal Adoption Center 5554 Co. Hwy 1 Cleveland, Al 35049
Friends of the Locust Fork River P.O. Box 638 Cleveland, Al 35049
As her daughter, my desire is to tell my mother’s Blount County story.
Martha lived a full and eventful life. She was born in 1923, after the Great Pandemic and World War I. She heard family stories of the tragic deaths from both events. She married Odell before World War II began. She and my dad spent many hours on the Locust Fork River where he grew up. She lived to know about the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, the battles in the Philippine Islands, Cuban Missile crisis, man’s first walk on the moon, election of a Catholic president and the first black president.
She was a charter member of West Side Baptist Church in Cleveland. The church was founded in her deceased parent’s home on Tuscaloosa Road. Later, a church was built on former Roberts property where she grew up. My brother, Jerry, and I played in the fields that would become the cemetery.
Martha learned to cook on a wood burning stove when she was just a child. She helped wash clothes in a black wash pot over an open fire. She kept milk cold in the waters near the old Moss Bridge. She told stories of her pioneer ancestors, the Roberts, Johnson, Green and Moss families. Some came to Blount County as early as 1819.
She never learned to be “too tired” or “too sick” to take care of others. She took care of family members as they aged, became sick, and died. During all the events of life, she had time to cook, clean, raise two children, have a garden, freeze and can, and go to church on Sunday. Throughout all this, she visited the sick, the nursing homes, went to funerals, fed the preachers, loved and rescued cats, and made banana pudding.
Mother believed in traditions. No matter what the family crisis, and there were many, we got together on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She prayed and gave thanks for our family and food. She believed in “Decoration Sundays” at Green’s Chapel, Austin Creek, Cleveland Methodist and Dailey’s Chapel. She loved our family history. She could tell stories about those who had passed on and how we were related. She documented Blount County with old pictures and newspaper clippings stored in boxes.
She was the inspiration for my first book.
Martha weathered all the storms of life with her faith in God. She believed her God would never give her more than she could bear. In our last conversation, she told me not to worry about her future. “I have lived a good life and I know where I am going. I’ll be with Odell and Jerry and see everybody again.”
Her parents were Albert and Anna Roberts Johnson. She had two younger brothers, Bud and Charles, both deceased. She was married for 61 years to Odell Curtis Grigsby, now deceased. She had two children, Jerry Grigsby, deceased, and Darnell Grigsby Whited. Her grandson’s are Bart Rainey and Anthony Grigsby. She had five great-grandchildren, a long list of relatives and friends who survive her. They each know their importance in her life.
Because of the rising risk of the Covid virus in Blount County, it was decided to have a private ceremony on Tuesday December 8, 2020 at the Blount County/ Cleveland Funeral Home, with burial at West Side Baptist Church, Cleveland, AL. Mother’s faith touched many lives. It is the family’s hope the hundreds of relatives and friends understand the need for limited attendance. A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.
Written by Darnell Whited
To honor her memory, donations may be made to any of the following:
West Side Baptist Church Cleveland, Al 35049
Blount County Animal Adoption Center 5554 Co. Hwy 1 Cleveland, Al 35049
Friends of the Locust Fork River P.O. Box 638 Cleveland, Al 35049