TRIBAL MEMBER NEWS
Roberta J. Martin
In Memory of Mom
With Love,
/ miss you Mom tremendously.
/ miss our rides to Seaside.
I miss holding hands through
the tunnel.
1 miss snuggling with you watching
the waves.
I miss your smile and how we laughed
about everything.
I miss getting your coffee and going
to lunch together.
I miss painting your nails and how it
tickled you.
I miss your hands on my face and the
mole on your thumb.
I miss you in my living room and
watching movies together.
You are my very special
“Two Watches.”
But, you are with Dad now, and that
brings me great comfort.
Only now I can be at peace with
your happiness.
I think of you every single day.
Your Jam-N-Jelly
Tribal Member
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These seventh-grade students at Siletz Valley School formed the student
government in January. From left - Dillon Blacketer, president; Natasha
Williams, treasurer; Mariah Garza, vice president; Leslie Schuler, secret
service; Kallee Abbass, secretary; and Jeremy Sweet (front), secret service.
Different students will hold these positions each month. Siletz Valley
School is the public charter school in Siletz, Ore., for students
in kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Our Mother, Roberta J. Martin - July 4,1932 - Dec. 19,2003
For almost two years. Mom has
missed Dad. She was very ill when he
died and to her it seemed almost a dream
that she couldn’t wake up from. Her lone
liness for him made her withdraw from
those who cared about her and she started
to lose interest in everyday activities.
Mom was a very intelligent, non-
judgmental, independent, and strong
woman. She didn’t want to depend on
others outside of her children. She
taught us to cook and had the patience
to continue teaching us until we knew
how. Especially, her second-bom, who
was given a special knife for Christmas
that read “for sandwiches” on the
handle. Mom would praise any attempts
at making a meal. She was the best
nurse who took care of us when we
were ill and continued to take care of
us into adulthood.
Mom loved the water. As small
children, we would watch as Mom and
Dad swam in the ocean to the point that
we would lose sight of them. She loved
to sing as Dad would play his guitar.
Mom was very artistic. All five of us
would sit and pose while she sketched
us; we were her models.
She loved to paint and would cut pic
tures from magazines and save them.
From these pictures she would paint
postcards that she would stash away or
if you were lucky, receive them in the mail
with “Thinking of you, love Mom.” A
simple card but very special just the same.
She loved to embroider. Sitting in
her special chair with the lamp without
a shade, she would create squares of
embroidered flowers and give them away
or store them for something special. If
you were visiting her, you needed to
wear sunglasses just to see her sitting
in her chair with that 100-watt light bulb
causing a beautiful silhouette of Mom.
3he loved to make dolls. She had a
knack for giving them personality,
which makes them extra special. Mom
would create the faces and I, her oldest,
would dress them. What a great team
of doll makers we made. She also loved
to go junkin’ (garage sales) with Dad.
Those were special outings that the two
of them enjoyed and their home showed
the treasures they found.
Mom enjoyed going out and having
lunch and dinner when she was with
Dad. And after Dad was gone, her
daughter Jaimi would pick her up and
take her out for rides to the beach to
watch the waves or go shopping and
together they would go to lunch or
dinner. Mom loved doing this until she
couldn’t go out any longer.
When Mom smiled, her whole face
would light up. She had the best sense
of humor and all five of us were lucky
to inherit that humor. Loud laughter
would ring out in our home growing up,
what a wonderful gift and memory. And
in Mom’s last years when her daughter
Jaimi came to visit, that same loud
laughter had the caregivers running to
check on Mom and find out what was
so funny, but they would never tell ...
and they would giggle even more. Our
visits to Mom were definitely the
loudest and noisiest.
Mom’s career consisted of raising
her five children. She worked as a secre
tary for a short time, then as a nurse
and finally with the Fairfax County
schools in Virginia until Dad’s
retirement, which brought them back
to Oregon in 1987. She was a hard
worker and very conscientious.
Mom taught us to love and to cherish
the small things and remember the good
things. But her biggest career in life was
being a wife of almost 50 years. She
longed to be with Dad again and that
longing was ended Dec. 19, 2003.
Though the five of us will miss her
with all our hearts, we know she is
where she wants to be ... with her
husband, our dad, smiling, laughing,
and dancing again with her greatest
love. We love and miss you, Mom.
Your five loving children,
Mikki, Darryn, Jaimi, Skip, and Tebby
February 2004 □
Siletz News
□
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