Martha Bowen Rawls

Martha Bowen Rawls, 85, passed away on February 19, 2016 at Lee County Health and Rehabilitation in Leesburg, GA. Funeral services will be conducted Monday, February 22, 2016, at 11:00 am at Mathews Funeral Home. Dr. William D. "Biff" Coker and Mr. Carl Barnhardt will officiate. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Interment will be held Wednesday February24, 2016 at 12:00 pm at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa, FL.

Martha was born on April 28, 1930 in Charlotte, NC, to the late Robert Esley and Letisha Mae Bowen. Martha grew up in Tampa, Florida and graduated from Plant High School in 1948. After High School she attended Nursing School at Gordon Keller School of Nursing at Tampa General Hospital and received her RN degree in June 1951.

Martha worked for several years at the Mason Smith Neurological Clinic and also at the South West Florida Tuberculosis Sanitarium before becoming a full time housewife and Mother.
Martha married Dennis B. Rawls Jr. on August 21, 1951. They were happily married for 64 years.

Martha was an active member of the Presbyterian Church throughout her life and relied heavily on her faith in God. She was a devoted Mother and volunteered for many activities that her children were involved in. She was a Cub Scout Leader, President of the High School PTA, and an active participant in the Parent Teacher Association.

Martha loved the outdoors and enjoyed boating, skiing, swimming and tennis. She could do most anything around the house including home repairs and often managed the yard work when her husband was at work with the airlines. She was a pillar of strength and Faith to all who knew her as she endured many physical ailments in her later years.

Martha was preceded in death by her parents, Robert E. Bowen and Letisha Mae Bowen, her brother Robert E. Bowen, and her sister Katherine Mae Bowen. Survivors include her husband, Dennis B. Rawls Jr. of Albany, Ga.; her Son, Dennis B. Rawls 3rd (Karen) of Lake Wylie, S.C.; her daughter, Becky Rawls Boatright (David), of Albany, Ga.; her grandchildren, Jenna Willcox (Allan), Lindsey Simmons (Brock), Carol Ford (Ray), all of Albany, Ga., Dennis Rawls IV of Lake Wylie, SC., Taylor Rawls of Chicago, Ill., Scott Boatright(Becky), of Smyrna ,Ga. ; her great grandchildren, Tanner, Fletcher, Bowen, Floyd, and Weslyn and her loving nieces, nephews and other extended family.

In lieu of flowers please make memorials in Martha's name to Albany Community Hospice 320 Foundation Ln. Albany, GA 31721 or to Covenant Presbyterian Church 2126 W. Edgewater Dr. Albany, GA 31707.