Martha Jane Utzman July 11, 1932 - April 26, 2023

We are deeply saddened to announce that, Martha Jane Utzman, age 90, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at Peterson Regional Medical Center in Kerrville, Texas due to complications after a successful hip surgery. She, also, had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease, osteoarthritis, and some other minor ailments.

Martha was born in the family home on July 11,1932 in the small town of Splendora, Texas just northeast of Houston.
Her parents were the late Charles Edward Coleman and Vida Gertrude Bazzoon. She was #7 of 8 children and she was an aunt by the age of 5 years old. So, the first 3 or 4 grandchildren, Shirley (Junie), Eddy, Bob, and Claudette were more like siblings to her. It was never a dull moment in the Coleman household. Martha was naturally musically inclined because she could play piano by ear. She could play just about anything you requested. She must have inherited her musical talent from her parents because her dad played the fiddle, and her mom played the organ for church and taught music in the local school. As Mom grew up, she was a tom-boy and her brother Charles called her Mike and that nickname stuck for the rest of her life. Many old neighbors, friends, and coworkers knew Martha as Mike Utzman.

She gained a love of sports and played basketball in high school. After graduating from Splendora High School in 1949, she attended Stephen F. Austin University for 1 year, then promptly decided to become a registered nurse. She went to the Hotel Dieu School of Nursing in Beaumont, Texas. For 35 years, she enjoyed an amazing career as an OR nurse working in surgery in a few different hospitals in Houston, Texas. After that she worked as a visiting nurse for 10 years in Athens, Texas and she loved that because she got to know her patients better.

On December 16, 1955, Martha married Walter (Bill) William Utzman, Sr. after meeting at a bowling alley in Houston,Texas only 3 months prior to getting married. They were both substituting for friends on the same day and Bill was smitten from the very beginning. He asked Martha to get married after only one date. He was stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Martha along with her mom drove there in December 1955. They got married at the Episcopal Chapel on the army base. And the rest is history. They stayed married for over 51 years, until Bill's passing on January 26, 2007. They got to live in Germany for 2 years, then Houston for about 30 years, then Athens, Texas for about 24 years. Mom moved to Kerrville in 2012 to be near her only granddaughter who is light of her life, Katie.

Martha had several pass-times and hobbies. Not only was nursing a passion of hers, but she enjoyed snow skiing with her husband Bill, family, and friends. She was a very good tennis player and was in a tennis league in the Houston area well into her 50's. She played a little golf and loved watching all kinds of sports including football, baseball, basketball, and tennis. Texas A&M was her favorite football team. Watching the Superbowl every year was a must and ever since she moved to Kerrville, she became a big fan of the San Antonio Spurs. Martha had a few hobbies she took up over the years such as cooking ( she was a fabulous cook and loved to entertain for holidays and special events), baking, needle point, sewing, painting, flower arranging, and gardening. If she wasn't busy working, you could often find her outside watering the yard or planting some new flowers. She loved to have a beautifully landscaped yard. She and Bill pretty much did all their own landscaping at every house they owned. After retirement, Martha especially enjoyed volunteering at the Athens local hospital and loved volunteering at the Cottage Shop in Kerrville as well as being a mentor/ volunteer at Starkey Elementary where she loved reading with young children. Finally, Martha was an avid reader. And I mean AVID!!!! She regularly stayed up all hours of the night because she just could not put a book down. Even with dementia, she still kept reading and even had a stash of books by her bed with bookmarks in each one at the skilled nursing facility she lived in for the last few months of her life. That intense love of reading has been passed down to her family as well.

Most importantly, Martha was a faithful Christian with a quiet spirit. For most of her life she was always active at her church either volunteering or cooking for an event or on the vestry or session or a women's group or bible study. While in the Episcopal church she was on the altar guild for many years. She also volunteered at the local foodbank in Athens.

Martha led an amazing and interesting life and she impacted her family in a positive way with her, strong work ethic, deep commitment to family, friends, and all who knew her. She definitely had strong opinions which she was not shy about telling you & she did not sugar coat those at all, but ultimately she loved life to the fullest, loved and cherished her friends ( old and new) and loved everyone she had the pleasure of knowing with all her heart.

Martha is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Walter (Bill) William Utzman, Sr.; all 7 of her siblings who are Vernon Coleman, Mildred Coleman Gandy, H.P. (Bo) Coleman, Christine Coleman, Wiley Monroe Coleman, Charles Coleman, and Alice Ann Bond.

Martha is survived by her children: son-Walter William Utzman,Jr. and wife Joanne of Massapequa, New York; and Daughter-Julie Ann (Utzman) Murray & husband Thomas Holt Murray, III of Kerrville, Texas; granddaughter Katie Grace Murray of Kerrville, Texas; her sister-in-law Betty Berryman Coleman of Mineral Wells, Texas; and 3 step grandchildren that sadly Martha did not have the pleasure of getting to know due to her illness- Andrew Goldblatt of Massapequa, New York; Emily Goldblatt of Worster, Massachusetts; and Jacklyn Goldblatt of Arlington, Virginia. Martha is also survived by numerous neices, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Funeral arrangements include: Visitation at Grimes Funeral Home in Kerrville, Texas on Thursday, May 11, 2023 from 5pm to 7pm;
Funeral Service: Neal Funeral Home in Cleveland, Texas at 10am Graveside: Splendora Cemetery

All the funeral/visitation/graveside details can be found on the Grimes Funeral Home website.

Martha's family would like to thank several people for being a part of the caregiving over the past couple of years. A special thank you to Cynthia Flores and her mom Rachel Silva for being there during those crazy transition months while mom was still living by herself. We could not have managed her without y'all's spectacular ability to care so deeply. Also, I want to give a huge shout out to mom's neighbors Aimee & Eddy Fite, Mike Springer, Joe Abrigo, and Lisa Desilets. Y'all went above and beyond to check on our mom and picked up the slack when we couldn't be around. Another special thank you to Brenda Whitaker and all the staff at 220 Harper Road Assisted Living Home for taking amazing care of Martha as she continued to spiral down and helping us to keep enjoying life despite the difficulties in front of us. Next, thank you to the staff at Riverhills Health and Rehab for taking care of our mom. And lastly, thank you to the dr's and nurses staff at Peterson Regional Medical Center who tried their best to help mom on her last day. I know your job is not easy and that was a very intense day. Thank you for you for all you do to help others every single day.