Martha Jean Sanders

Jean Sanders, 93, of Gilmer, left this earth peacefully and entered heaven on March 18, 2019. Martha Jean Boyd was born on May 8, 1925 in Parks, Texas, to Joseph Hurd Boyd and Sibyl Iane Inabnet Boyd.

Jean spent her childhood years in Stephenville, Texas. She graduated from Stephenville High School in 1942, where she was voted senior class “Most Representative,” vice-president of the student body as a junior, and sophomore class favorite. She was on the annual staff and performed in plays.

She attended John Tarleton State College to take a one-year business course. After she graduated, she went to work in the insurance industry in San Angelo, TX, where she met Jere Hart Sanders, after he returned from fighting in World War II. She and Jere were married on July 2, 1946.

They moved to the Sanders’ family ranch outside Big Lake, Texas, where they raised sheep. Their first baby, Ronald Jere, was born on January 12, 1949, while they were living on the ranch. By the time their second child, Sue Jane, was born on February 7, 1951, they had moved back to San Angelo and later moved to Winters, TX and then to Pampa, TX. In Pampa, Jean was a stay-at-home mom, who spent lots of time supporting her children in their activities. She was also an avid duplicate bridge player. A country music fan, she enjoyed country-western dancing with Jere. She loved being “Nanaw” and having fun with her seven grandchildren; she was their biggest cheerleader in all aspects of their lives. After Jere’s death in 1988, Jean moved to be near her daughter’s family – first to Oklahoma City, followed by Irving, TX, and then Gilmer, TX, where she was a member of First United Methodist Church.

Jean is preceded in death by her husband, Jere Sanders, her parents, Joe and Sibyl Boyd, and her five siblings Charles Cole Boyd, Norma Louise Boyd, Jo Marie Boyd Wylie, Frances Jacqueline Boyd Robertson, and Richard Bryant Boyd.

She is survived by her son Ron and wife Julie of Comanche, TX; daughter Sue and husband Alfred N. “Buzzy” Green of Gilmer, TX; grandchildren Bethany Scoggin, Joey Scoggin and wife Cindy, Jeremy Green and wife Rachel, Nathan Green and fiancée Mark, Nick Sanders and wife Laura, Travis Sanders and fiancée Casey, and Ellie Rodriguez and husband Tyler; great-grandchildren Avery and Kai Scoggin, Tori Sanders, Tristan and Trevor Rodriguez; several nieces and nephews including Barbara Wylie Smith and husband Gary and Milton Wylie and wife Mary Ann, all of Gilmer.

Jean’s family will gather for a celebration of life memorial service. She will be laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery in Pampa next to Jere, her husband of forty-one years.