Martha Swain Reed, 78, died December 29, 2008 at Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth.
She is survived by her husband of thirty-four years, Charles Gordon Reed; daughters, Rebecca Hemphill Sanders of Beaumont, Ann Hemphill Spencer of Beaumont; son, Steven Earl Hemphill and his wife Dawn of Austin; three granddaughters, LaRisa Byrns Carpenter, a Marine Corps veteran, and her husband GySgt Glen Carpenter of Jacksonville, North Carolina, Jessica Sanders of Houston, Kelly Griffin and her husband Cody Griffin of China, Texas. She is the great grandmother of Seth, Jada and Lily Carpenter of Jacksonville, North Carolina and Stetson and Brynleigh Griffin of China, Texas. Her brother, Emmett Conway Swain Jr.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins in Texas and of California also survive her.
She will be remembered for encouraging her children to achieve college educations, be prepared for professional careers they could also enjoy, to contribute to civic activities and set goals that prepared them for varied futures.
She and Charlie enjoyed worldwide travel, cruises and excursions to historic sites.
Her parents, Emmett Conway Swain Sr. and Ysleta Spurlock Swain of Houston, preceded her in death, as did her grandparents, Mattie Salter and James B. Spurlock, early settlers in East Texas and Cedar Bayou, Texas; and her grandmother, Jennie Fain, a resident of Shepherd, Texas.
Martha was a third-generation member of the Cedar Bayou Methodist Church, one of the first Methodist churches chartered after Texas won its independence from Mexico.
Born September 8, 1930 in Houston, Martha began her award-winning writing career as the Third Grade Reporter of the Houston YWCA Day Camp. She was a reporter for the Oakdale, Louisiana, weekly newspaper before becoming an editor of the Baytown Sun. She came to Beaumont in 1972 as an editor of the Beaumont Enterprise and Journal. She brought change to the typical “society” and “women’s” sections as lifestyles for women and technology changed during the 1970s and ‘80s. As a communications major at Texas Christian University, she appeared on the first live television program ever broadcast in Texas and wrote, directed and produced the first children’s weekly television program in the state. She also studied education at the University of Houston.
Following seven years at the Beaumont newspapers, she enjoyed a variety of positions in communications and public relations at the Port Arthur School District, the McFaddin-Ward House, Lamar University’s John Gray Center, and retired from Lamar University in 1993 as director of publications and an adjunct professor in communications. As an editor at the Baytown Sun, she began a prize-winning writing career which continued until her retirement. She was president of Texas Press Women and in 1979-1981 president of the National Federation of Press Women. She was the first Sweepstakes winner of the Excellence in Media Awards presented by the Press Club of Southeast Texas in 1993. Martha was chosen as a consultant for the development of USA Today in the 1970s. She was honored by governors as a 1984 Texas First Woman of Beaumont, a Kentucky Colonel, an admiral in the Nebraska Navy, a Sagamore of the Wabash in Indiana, a First Amendment Protector by the mayor of Philadelphia and an honorary U.S. Army Recruiter when she served as a consultant to returning veterans at the War College in Pennsylvania.
The National Federation of Press Women named Martha as an Outstanding Communicator of the Century. Martha was a Texas Press Women’s Woman of Achievement, an international honorary member of Beta Sigma Phi, a former member of PEO and was president of several organizations including the Spindletop Stitchers, a chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America. She served on the boards of directors of the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sabine Oaks Senior Retirement Center, Beaumont Art Museum and assisted the Beaumont Junior League in expanding the debutante ball and monthly luncheon fundraiser.
As a delegate to the First Amendment Congress in Philadelphia and Williamsburg, she was a vocal supporter of equal opportunities for women and access to public information for members of the press. She arranged trips to China and Russia for NFPW members who counseled reporters and editors about the United States Constitution’s First Amendment demand for open meetings and records of public interest and the need for such information to flow freely in those countries.
Princess Grace of Monaco and movie actor John Wayne were her favorite interview subjects.
During her retirement, Martha enjoyed learning Japanese silk embroidery, needle pointing Christmas stockings for her grandchildren and great grandchildren, playing duplicate bridge and collecting antique needle cases.
A memorial service celebrating Martha’s life will be 4:00 p.m. Friday, January 2, 2009 at Broussard’s, 1605 N. Major Drive, Beaumont followed by a toast and light reception. A gathering of family and friends will be 3:00 p.m. until time of service on Friday at the mortuary.
Memorial donations may be made in the name of Martha S. Reed to Texas Children’s Hospital, 6621 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas 77030 in honor of the Carpenter and Griffin great grandchildren.
