Today is the 80th anniversary of the birth of my mom, Martha Ann Hogue. She was born 14 October 1938 in Pomona, California to Roy and Irene (Depriest) Murray. Roy and Irene, along with their extended families, left Oklahoma in 1935 to head west seeking a better life like so many others in those days. They basically followed the fruit harvests around, first to Mesa, AZ and then on to southern California. Martha lived in tents and barns many times during her early childhood, until Roy and Irene saved enough to buy a service station in Morgan Hill, California. Mom attended high school there, but left early to marry my dad, Chuck Hogue, on 30 Sep 1955, just before her 17th birthday. By 1962, Martha and Chuck were living in Santa Clara, CA, and she was busy being a stay at home mom to me and my two brothers. She went to night school and got her high school diploma in 1967.
Both California lifers, Chuck and Martha left the state in 1981 when Dad took a job as a district manager for Fuller-O’Brien Paints in Honolulu, Hawaii. They returned to the Bay Area in 1985 and remained there until retiring to Rancho Murieta, California in 2002. Mom was an avid reader, and loved keeping up with the Hollywood gossip. If the Oscars were on TV, she was watching it. She loved watching Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin in the afternoons. She liked her “people”, too, especially her grand kids. Martha had some unfortunate luck towards the end of her life; after my brother Scott passed away in 2013, she had her right knee replaced and developed dementia. We moved her to Sparks, NV to be near us, and just as she started to improve, was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer in July of 2014. She passed away 24 Sep 2014 in Beaverton, OR, age 75. We miss her a lot, and the kids all miss their “Tutu”.
I miss her!
So sorry to hear about her passing. I used to work with Martha at the Sunnyvale School District. We had so much fun together! I lost contact with her in 2012,
I am very sorry for your loss.