Jennie Barr Martin

Jennie Barr Martin, age 70, passed away peacefully at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on March 11, 2021 due to complications from colon cancer. Jennie was born March 16, 1950 in Westpoint, Mississippi to Jimmie and Catherine Barr. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating from George Washington Carver High School and Lemoyne Owen College. After receiving a second degree from the University of Tennessee Medical Units, she married and gave birth to two children, Robert L. Martin, III and Leia Joyce Martin.

Jennie, never one to be idle, loved learning and helping others learn. At Lemoyne Owen, she served as a faculty assistant taking students on field trips to study nature and the wetlands at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. Jennie pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and stayed close to her sorority sisters over the years. As someone who valued ecology, biology and the environment, Jennie loved taking long walks and being outside in nature. She sang in the church choir at First Baptist Church on First Street and for a brief time sang with a gospel group.

Later in life after Jennie’s marriage ended, she suffered from a debilitating mental illness and lost custody of her children to her former husband. In spite of it all, she never lost her faith or her willingness to serve the Lord. She taught Sunday School, read her bible and attended church regularly. She volunteered her time by going to area churches and helped the people in her apartment building get food assistance. Most importantly, though she struggled mightily to maintain her independence she never complained. Her quiet persistence and fighting spirit will be missed by all, especially her sister and friends.

Jennie’s last church home was the Historic Beale Street Baptist Church pastored by Rev. David Hilton.

Jennie is survived by her sister, Loretta Joyce Barr and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Jennie is preceded in death by her siblings, Robert Dennis Barr, Sr., Jimmie Barr, Jr., Elizabeth Brooks, and Joe Barr as well as her parents, Catherine Lane Barr and Jimmie Barr, Sr.

Jennie has been cremated by Mid South Mortuary Services in Memphis, Tennessee. There will not be a memorial service for her, however, an online guestbook will be available.

Anyone wishing to honor Jennie’s memory can donate to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org and/or National Alliance on Mental Illness www.nami.org directly.