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Velma June Baker Martin died June 16, 2017, at Fayetteville Health and Rehab after a long battle with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. June was born July 5, 1935, at St. Paul, one of five children of Leroy and Iva Peggy Patrick Baker. She grew up on Flemings Creek near St. Paul and on Oct. 27, 1956, married Harold Wayne Martin of Pettigrew, a high school classmate. They had two sons, Howard James in 1958 and Daniel Patrick in 1962. Except for a couple of years working in Fayetteville as a young adult and three years in La Habra, Calif., where Jim was born, June spent her life in Pettigrew, across Highway 16 from her in-laws, H.O. and Elva Barker Martin, and just down the road from the post office where she worked for most of two decades as clerk and then postmaster. "Granny" was never happier than when her dining room table was groaning with food and laughter filled her living room. She was the consummate hostess, serving not eating unless her family trapped her behind the table, but she always happy to share the cooking with her sons and daughters-in-law, whether it was to put together a bountiful holiday meal or just Sunday dinner. She spent many Sunday afternoons at that same dining room table, coloring and playing with her grandchildren, who were the light of her life, and her home was filled with photos of their accomplishments. Known for her gentle demeanor and kind smile, she was also a true Southern "steel magnolia" who was strong enough to drive her husband to the hospital after a chain saw accident, tend cattle and keep a huge garden thriving. When the Mooney-Barker Drug Store, which belonged to Wayne's grandmother, Helen Mooney Barker, was sold at auction in 1986, June and Wayne began a friendship with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale that would last the rest of their lives. They worked together to preserve the history of Pettigrew, whether that meant raising funds for the school turned community building, donating or loaning pieces of the past for exhibits at the museum or spearheading Pettigrew Day, the annual homecoming and celebration of the town's boom days at the turn of the 20th century. Their last project together was Wayne's pictorial book on the history of Pettigrew, which he completed before his death on Sept. 29, 2010. June is survived by her sons, Dan of Fayetteville and Jim of Van Buren; three daughters-in-law, Carla Gray Martin of Fayetteville, Brenda Seaton Martin of Van Buren and Becca Martin-Brown of Bella Vista; five grandchildren, Amanda, Patrick and Hannah Martin and Christopher and Jessica Gray; three great-grandchildren, Theorie, Jeffrey and Alessa; her brothers Kenneth of St. Paul and Luther of Washington state; and a host of family and friends. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A. M. Friday, June 23, in the chapel of Brashears Funeral Home with Larry Joe Johnson, Minister officiating. Interment will be in the Brashears Cemetery under the direction of Brashears Funeral Home www.brashearsfuneralhome.net of Huntsville, Arkansas. Pallbearers will be: Shane Kimball, Russell Alberts, Kenny Haught, Ed Baker, Rocky Martin and Paul Williams. The family will receive friends from 6:00 P. M. to 8:00 P. M. on Thursday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in support of the Pettigrew Community Building. Memorials may be mailed to: Pettigrew Heritage Committee, c/o Audra Kimball, 229 Madison 3105, Pettigrew, Arkansas 72752.

Tributes

Velma June Martin

July 5, 1935 - June 16, 2017