Martha L. Hemphill

Martha L. Hemphill, 100, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Monday. Martha passed away peacefully at her home in Saxonburg.

She was born Sept. 11, 1915, on a farm in Buffalo Township to Frank and Susan Baxter Harvey. She married Kenneth L. Hemphill June 26, 1935.

The Hemphills initially lived in West Deer Township until 1946, when they moved to a farm in Clinton Township. It was here that they raised various crops and animals and built a good life with their family of four children. Kenneth and Martha were married 55 years before Kenneth's death in 1990.

Her faith, family and friends were very important to her. She was the oldest living member of Pleasant Unity United Presbyterian Church in Fawn. Martha volunteered at both the South Butler County Library and Allegheny Valley Hospital for a number of years. She loved reading and playing cards, in particular 500 bid. While her husband was alive, they enjoyed traveling together.

Martha was a wonderful wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother. The great-grandchildren who called her “Nana” brought her much joy in her later years.

When Martha turned 100 and was asked, she attributed her long life to living and working on a farm. She loved farming and also a bit of chocolate now and then.

Surviving are her son, Alan K. Hemphill of Saxonburg; her daughters, Norma (Donald) Gratzer of Cabot and Sharon (Larry) Stephens of Sarver; four grandchildren, Brian (Connie) Grazter of Cabot, Trudy Ludwiczak of Wilmington, N.C., Cory A. (Jeanette) Stephens of Sarver and Lia C. (Jeffrey) Smith of Butler; and a number of great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth L. Hemphill, who passed away in 1990; her son, Darold “Bucky” Hemphill; four brothers, Chester, Ralph, Howard and Clifford Harvey; one sister, Dorothy Toy; and a number of nieces and nephews.

HEMPHILL — Friends of Martha L. Hemphill, who died Monday, May 23, 2016, will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. today and 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Fox Funeral Home, 410 W. Main St., Saxonburg.Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home with the Rev. Dr. Terry Mann officiating. Interment will follow at the Butler County Memorial Park.Memorial donations may be made to the Pleasant Unity Presbyterian Church, 188 Culmerville Millerstown Road, Tarentum, PA 15084 or the South Butler County Library, 240 W. Main St., Saxonburg, PA 16056.Arrangements are being handled by the Fox Funeral Home, Saxonburg.For more information, please visit www.foxfuneralhomeinc.com.