Nita Ray Martin

Nita Ray SoRelle Martin went to Heaven peacefully on Dec. 7, 2020, at the age of 102, in her home in Waco, Texas. A private family service was held at Oakwood Cemetery with Dr. Matt Snowden officiating. The daughter of Andrew Currie SoRelle and Nita Lucile Ray SoRelle, Nita Ray was born August 17, 1918, in the home of her grandparents in Rosenberg, Texas. She grew up in Houston, Texas. After attending Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, for her freshman year of college, Nita Ray transferred to Baylor University. She graduated from Baylor in the Class of 1940, where she was a Baylor Beauty and member of the Alpha Omega Club. At Baylor, she met Edward “Ed” Woodall Martin, with whom she fell in love and married on June 29, 1940, in Houston. Directly following their honeymoon, Ed and Nita Ray went to Kansas City, Missouri, where Ed worked in the stockyards-a preparation for life as a Texas cattleman and rancher. Following the first years of her marriage, Nita Ray became an “army wife” when Ed enlisted in the military to serve in WW II. Together they lived in Panama and on several army posts stateside-years of memorable experiences and life-shaping events. After the war, Ed and Nita Ray moved to San Antonio where their three daughters-Sally, Suzy, and Janie--were born. Here it was that Nita Ray began to fulfill her calling as an ideal mother and prime creator of the life of the family. In 1950, Ed and Nita Ray moved to Waco, where Ed ranched on the banks of the Brazos and Nita Ray nurtured their three girls. There Nita Ray involved herself in the life of First Baptist Church of Waco as a Sunday school teacher, leader of children’s and youth groups, and active participant in all aspects of church life. She highly valued her experiences in the Literary Club, P.E.O, and the Junior League of Waco as well as her volunteer service at Hillcrest Hospital, Evangelia Settlement, Fort House, and the Oakwood Cemetery Board. Nita Ray adored Ed, cherished her “girls,” loved her sons-in-law, and enjoyed significant and personal relationships with every one of her eleven grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren. She was intensely interested in the life details of every member of her family. She was the quintessential hostess with a contagious sense of humor, an instinctive elegance, and positive mindset about people and life. A member of the family captured her spirit, saying “I will never forget the lovely lunch at Gram’s place. What a warm and loving lady who welcomed me to the family with Southern charm and warm biscuits. Just a joyous lady who made you feel like you were the only one in the room. A Southern belle in every way, the matriarch who can never be replaced and certainly forever loved.” Nita Ray was called by several affectionate nicknames within the family. But to her three girls, she was “Mama.” Nita Ray was preceded in death by her husband, Edward W. Martin; son-in-law, Dr. Kent Starr; granddaughter, Allison Starr Pendergras; parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. SoRelle, Sr.; sister, Virginia Lee SoRelle; brothers, A. C. SoRelle, Jr., and Henry Meyer SoRelle; and in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. D. K. Martin. Survivors include her three girls-Sally Firmin, Suzanne Starr, Jane Pendergraft, and their families, including eleven grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren; and her godson, Reagan Houston IV. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Waco, 500 Webster, Waco, TX, 76706, or to the charity of choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.