Wilbert Martin

MARTIN, WILBERT E. Wilbert E. Martin went to be with the Lord on July 28, 2013. The son of Roy and Ida Martin was born on January 15, 1926, and, as a child, lived in Walter, Alabama. "Wib, or Papaw", as he was known to his family, moved to Birmingham, after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Wib was employed by Sears and Roebuck for over 30 years, serving as Manager for the watch repair and Jewelry departments. Wib, due to his unusual nickname, was known by his many friends by a variety of names such as Will, Web, Spider, Wilbert, and many others. To the amusement of his family, he never corrected anyone's version of his name answering to any name. His response was "It just doesn't matter what they call me". Papaw will always be remembered by his many friends and family as a prankster of the highest order and someone who loved to tell, and retell, jokes. We will always have the memory of his smiling face and tear filled eyes as he laughed harder than anyone listening to his jokes, even though we heard them hundreds of times. Without any question, Papaw was a wonderful and dedicated friend, Dad, Papaw, and husband. His wife Mary, Mimi to her family, was in life, and continued to be after her death, the love of his life. Even after more than 60 years of marriage, they could often be seen sitting or walking together holding hands. While Papaw demonstrated for all to see his love, devotion and dedication to her over a lifetime, his devotion to her over the last few years of her life amazed everyone but his family. As Mimi's health deteriorated, his "job", as he called it, was to take care of her. When he said he was giving up his weekly golf outings because he "just didn't want to play anymore ", we all knew that was not the real reason. After moving to St. Martin's, he arose early each morning, woke mom, dressed her, took her to breakfast, sat with her, took her to lunch and dinner, dressed her and put her to bed, and sat in her room for an hour or so until he was certain she was asleep before going back to his own room where he would then talk to us and tell us about their day. Papaw was a quiet man. While the lessons he taught us were primarily observed rather verbalized, we clearly saw the way he lived his life. His unfailing love and dedication to Mary best illustrated to us who he was and served to inspire all of us. Those memories will be with each of us forever. When Mimi passed away October 21, 2010, we all knew that he was no longer interested in being here, but wanted to join her as soon as possible. In fact, he had always told us his goal was "to live one day longer than Mimi". While Papaw was an avid outdoorsman, always gardening, working in his yard, playing golf, watching his grandchildren play sports, and anything else to be outside and active, there is no question that his family was the highlight of his life. Papaw, like Mimi, will always be adored by our family and we will always be grateful that this couple got to share their love for life with their five grandchildren and that they now have their own "Papaw and Mimi stories" to cherish. Papaw and Mimi moved to St. Martins in the Pines as Mimi's health, and then his own, began to decline. For the love and dedication of the care staff of St. Martins in the Pines, we will always be grateful. They allowed this special couple to live a quiet, happy life with dignity. While naming all of the wonderful caregivers would be impossible it would also be impossible not to mention Latonia Lee, Clinical Director, who oversaw their care with love and dedication rarely seen. Wib is survived by loving family members including son, Alan, his wife, Cheryl, their two children, Ryan and Lindsey, Lindsey's husband Tal, and their two daughters, Parker Ann and Bailey Clyde. Papaw is also survived by his loving daughter Sherl, her husband Larry and their children, Brad, Lauren and Jeff. Other family members include his brother Jim, wife Anita and their family; sister, Essie and their family and brother-in-law, Jim Mann and his wife Shirley and their family. Our Papaw was special to all of us for the way he loved his family and the kind of man he was. Letting him go is so difficult but made much easier by the certainty of our faith and understanding that he is now with the Lord and his Mary. The lives lived by this couple are, and always will be, sources of great pride for our family. For both of them, their greatest joy and pride was their family. That lesson has been learned and is faithfully being repeated. The funeral will be at Jefferson Memorial in Trussville on Wednesday, July 31 at 2:00 PM with visitation from 1:00 PM until service starts. Any memorials may be addressed to The Alzheimer's Association of Alabama or to the charity of your choice.