A Class Act -- Great Aunt Martha

Martha W. James, 91, passed away early Friday morning, July 17, at Seton Medical Center in Austin. Weed-Corely-Fish Funeral Home of Austin was in charge of arrangements with burial in North Belton Cemetery.

Ms. James was born in Belton to Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. James Sr., in the family home on North Penelope Street. She graduated valedictorian from Belton High School and received her undergraduate degree from Mary-Hardin Baylor College in Belton. Afterward, she received her master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. James continued her education at the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor’s degree in library science – a field of study that remained a source of delight and her passion for the remainder of her life.

Ms. James worked as a librarian in Detroit and Sacramento, California, before moving to Philadelphia where she worked as a reference librarian at the University of Pennsylvania until her retirement.

After retirement, Ms. James moved back to Austin and lived at the Westminster Manor where she expanded the library and volunteered her time. Retirement never dampened her spirit for learning, cultural expansion, music and the arts. Ms. James was a frequent patron of the arts traveling to Houston and downtown Austin for ballet, opera and symphony performances.

She attended services at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin until her health deteriorated.

Ms. James is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Eleanor James and Kathrine James, and brother Robert (Bob) B. James Jr. She is survived by niece Maggie James of Morgan’s Point; nephew Jim James and wife, Sharon, of Temple; and great-nephew Mark James and wife Suzanne, and great-great nephew Luke James of Round Rock, and great-nephew David James of Cedar Park.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Bell Country Museum (201 N Main St. Belton, Texas 76513) or a local library of your choice.