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Mrs. Martha Jane Whitsett Williamson departed this life on the morning of August 23, 2022 at Annie Penn Memorial Hospital in Reidsville, North Carolina. Funeral services will be held on Friday, September 2, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at the McLaurin Memorial Chapel, 721 E. Morehead Street, Reidsville, NC with family visitation one half hour prior to the service. Public viewing will be held on Thursday, September 1, 2022 from 2:00 until 7:00 p.m. with burial to be held at Greenview Cemetery.
Martha, affectionately known as “Martha Jane” or “Granny”, was born on March 2, 1937 in Greensboro, NC to the late Louise Whitsett. She graduated from Graham High School in Alamance County in 1956. She later moved to Reidsville, where she met, married her husband, Bobby Williamson, and had two daughters. They farmed and raised tobacco. Martha planted flowers and maintained a vegetable garden. She enjoyed canning her vegetables and would often share them with her relatives. She also loved to sew, and sometimes made matching outfits for her daughters and their dolls. Once her children were older, she worked at Burlington Mills and later, was a longtime employee of Macfield. Prior to her retirement, she also worked at Chase Bag.
After she retired, Martha enjoyed cooking, drawing, and handing out snacks to the neighborhood children, who also referred to her as “Granny”. Oftentimes, she cooked for family and friends without being asked. She especially enjoyed making cupcakes for her grandchildren’s Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. She also loved animals and fed the squirrels and birds daily.
In addition to her mother, she was preceded in death by her husband Bobby Williamson; her brothers, Harold Whitsett, Maurice Whitsett, and Perry Whitsett; her sister, Patricia Whitsett Fortune; aunts, Mary Ruth Whitsett Gibson, Helen Whitsett Goins, Myrtle Whitsett, and Roberta Whitsett Hooker; uncles, John Calvin “JC” Whitsett, Richard Whitsett, Edward Whitsett, Thurman Whitsett and Robert Whitsett; sisters-in-law, Mollie Bell Williamson Turner (Matthew “Saint”), Kathleen Williamson Lawson (Leon), Gracie Williamson Graves (Herman “Fruit”), and Afrances Williamson Williams (Pete); and brother-in-law, Lawrence Williamson.
She is survived by her daughters, Carolyn Williamson Lee of Reidsville, NC and Deborah Williamson of Bronx, NY; grandchildren, Tonya Kershaw of Gibsonville, NC, Olivia “Libby” Lee of Greensboro, NC, and Lemar “LJ” Lee (Brianna) of Reidsville, NC; step-grandchildren, Keita Lee and AJ Lee, both of Reidsville, NC; sisters, Yvonne Whitsett Garrett (Rev. Rayfield) of Camden, SC, and Judy Whitsett Clark (Vernon) of Parkland, MD; sister-in-law, Rosetta Williamson of Reidsville, NC; two great granddaughters; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, other relatives and dear friends.
Ashton and Yolanda McLaurin and the staff of the McLaurin Funeral Home are serving the family. Covid-19 precautions will be followed with social distancing, masks and sanitizing required.
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