Martha Elizabeth Guest Stanford's Obituary
Martha Elizabeth Guest Stanford passed away on March 23rd after a short illness. She was born September 3, 1927 in Mississippi to Henry Grady Guest and Pearl Emerson Guest. She graduated high school in Marks and met Jack Stanford early in 1947 when he was “fresh out of the Marine Corps.” She said, “He took a job in Marks with the State Highway Department, whose office was directly across the street from my office at the Mississippi Power and Light Company. He kept asking, ‘Who is that cute girl that works across the street??’ He came to pay someone’s bill, and so there we met, dated, and fell in love.” Jack proposed four months later. Her mother “was not too happy, but she adjusted and learned to love him.” They were married at the Clarksdale (MS) Baptist Church on August 2, 1947. On their first wedding anniversary their first child, John (“Johnny”), was born.
Jack and Martha started life together in Clarksdale in a home built by her father and brother’s construction company, H.G. Guest & Sons. They later moved to Memphis and then to West Memphis, Arkansas where their four children grew up. Martha worked as an administrative assistant to bank presidents in West Memphis and was a school secretary in the Marion, Arkansas school system. She was active in community theater. When the family later moved to Memphis, Martha worked for Memphis Bank & Trust, Management Recruiters, and retired from Cleo, Inc. in 2004 at age 77.
Martha is preceded in death by parents and her siblings: Suzy Guest Clammer, Henry Grady Guest, Jr., Dora Guest High, and Howard Guest; her husband Jack; son, John Stanford, Sr.; daughter, Shirley Stanford Wilson; and two grandsons, John Stanford, Jr. and Trent Wilson. She is survived by her sons, Jack Stanford of West Memphis, Arkansas and Charles Stanford of Memphis; eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, seven nieces and nephews, including her nephew Richard Guest of Hernando, Mississippi whom she adored like a son.
Martha was proud to tell everyone that she was 92 years old. She recalled, “Since I grew up during the Great Depression, we didn’t vacation together. I remember that on Saturday night my daddy would buy a whole stalk of bananas and we’d sit around the fireplace and listen to the radio. My daddy and mother bought a big, upright piano, and I learned to play ‘by ear.’ I loved music so much. No dance lessons, but my friends and I learned to tap dance. My mother entered me in every contest that came around, and I sang and danced – sometimes I won! We never had television – it just wasn’t invented back then.”
Martha was a huge fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. She adored gardening and enjoyed socializing with friends. She encouraged her children and grandchildren to pursue their interests in sports and art. She was proud of the service of her brothers and sister Suzy in the armed forces in World War II. Her brother, Howard, was killed in action in the Pacific Theater and buried at sea. She worked for many charities and the Arkansas Republican Central Committee, and she was delighted to have had tea with Mrs. Winthrop Rockefeller after Governor Rockefeller’s re-election in 1968. Martha loved to read, literally consuming a novel a day even in her 90’s. Burial will be at Memorial Park in Memphis. In response to restrictions that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic, a private graveside service will be held at a later date.
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