Martha Muirhead

Beloved Mother, Sister, and Wife, Martha Jo Muirhead, went to be with our Lord on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, at the age of 77, after a long battle with Dementia. She passed peacefully at her home in Plattsburg, Missouri with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson at her side. Martha was born on November 10, 1935 in Olney, Texas, daughter of Joseph Humphrey, who was Superintendent of Schools in Olney, and Marana Humphrey, who was a one room schoolhouse teacher at age 16, and one of the first women in Texas history to get a Master's Degree. She spent her early years following her mother and father during her father's military career and studied piano at Mary Hardin Baylor in the seventh grade, often playing at the Highland Park Music Festival, and weddings, starting at age five. She graduated with honors in 1953 from Austin High School where she was in choir and the National Honor Society. She went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas at Austin, TX in 1957 where she was in the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. Martha continued to be an accomplished pianist, playing for multiple sorority events, and ready to be a concert pianist by the time she graduated from college. But she chose teaching instead and dedicated her life to educating young people, retiring from a long and distinguished career in El Paso, Texas in the early nineties. She enjoyed music, art, reading, and travel. Martha was a member the First Baptist Church of El Paso, Texas, where she often played the piano and sang in the choir during her working years. She took a 17-year break in teaching to raise her two children, then went back to teaching and finished out her career as a Master English Teacher. Martha was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, Joseph William Muirhead and is survived by her sister Lillian Creasy and her husband Richard; her sons, Joseph Robert Muirhead and his wife, Kristen, their son Jack; John Muirhead and his wife Yvonne; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. All members of her family often talked about the fact that Martha was perhaps the kindest, gentlest soul they have ever known. May this amazing lady rest in love and peace. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 1, 2013, at the Edwards Funeral Home, Eastland TX. Arrangements Bailey & Cox Family Funeral Service Plattsburg, MO. Online Guest book and Obituary at www.baileycox.com