Martha Ruth Brame Smith Wilson of Ballwin, MO, born 11/12/1929, Slater Missouri died on 01/29/2018 at Mercy Medical Center, St. Louis. Martha was 8^th of 9 children of William W. Brame and Mamie (Milsaps) Brame of Slater Missouri. Martha graduated with honors from Slater High School and received an academic scholarship to Southwest Baptist College in Boliver, MO. She was crowned Miss Slater in the American Royal Pageant. She met her first real boyfriend in college, but that was not to be. She left college after one year due to family hardship and returned to live with her widowed mother and younger sister, Bonnie. To support herself and the family, she worked for the Rice Stix Co. as a seamstress and for Southwest Bell Telephone as a clerk.

While attending First Baptist Church in Slater, she became re-acquainted with Harold A. Smith, only son of Lucile A. (Deibel) and Jerome F. Smith, also of Slater MO. Harold had also interrupted his engineering studies at University of Missouri, Columbia, joining his fraternity brothers in serving in the U.S. Army in WW II. Their courtship did not suffer from the gas rationing as Harold was skilled enough to refurbish a motorcycle, with which got him back and forth from Slater to Columbia and also allowed the couple to cruise the Ozark hills. Martha tried to be patient as he finished his degree and graduated with his degree in Electrical Engineering. They married at First Baptist Church, Slater, MO on May 20^th, 1951.

After a brief honeymoon, they started a new life together when Harold was offered an engineering job with Commonwealth Edison. They relocated to the Chicago suburb of Maywood, Illinois briefly, and then to Dixon, Illinois. They greeted their first child, Rebecca in March of 1952 in a snowstorm. Harold was tickled to practice his photography skills and even developed his own pictures in the bathroom of their modest apartment. Their second daughter, Robin arrived in September of 1954 and their third daughter Norma in 1957. Creative in the kitchen, Martha’s recipe for Calypso Dips cookies won her a trip to the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which included a winners lunch at the New York Waldorf Astoria Hotel with celebrity screen actor, Ronald Reagan.

Another job promotion and transfer brought them to DeKalb, Illinois, where with help of a $3,000 loan from church friends and plenty of sweat equity, they built their first home. Martha missed her large family but helped everyone stay connected with the creation of the Round Robin Newsletter, which went serially from house to house, with old news replaced with a new letter at each stop. After the three daughters were old enough to go to school, Martha resumed her education at Northern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Education. She taught English at Sycamore High School. Always thirsty to learn, she went on to obtain a Masters degree in Reading while still teaching, and then a EdD in Counseling Education , both from Northern Illinois University.

Harold and Martha were very active in the First Baptist Church and Baptist Campus Ministry in DeKalb. Martha played piano, organ, sang in the choir and Harold made and maintained the AV systems. They also served as treasurer, trustees, deacons and taught Sunday School. They returned frequently to visit family in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, including the Brame Family reunion each summer. They enjoyed travel and took the family on many road trips, camping, canoeing and fishing, and shared their love and reverence for outdoor places. They returned to Missouri on retirement, building another home in the hills of Rolla, Mo. Martha continued counseling, seeing clients referred from pastors and social service agencies in her home office. Harold stayed active in his workshop and built up a short-wave radio club as well as high-end audio system. Their home was always filled with music with Martha singing, Harold humming to jazz on the high-fi. They bought an RV and saw even more of the U.S. as well as visiting family and friends on the way. After sharing 43 years of marriage, Harold died in 1993 of heart disease.

Martha met her second husband, Vernon W. Wilson of Gadsden, AL while on a mission trip with World Changers. Both recently widowed, they shared an immediate connection and wasted no time deciding to remarry. Martha married Vernon and moved to Gadsden, AL in 1994. The couple traveled together to Alaska and Europe. Martha continued counseling, taking clients referred by pastors and social service agencies. She cared for Vernon in his last years at home with the help of hospice as he died of Alzheimer dementia in 2007.

Martha moved back to Missouri to be closer to family and settled in West County, St. Louis. She found a new community and became part of Green Trails Methodist Church. She joined the Meramec Bluffs Senior Living Community in 2014. She continued to take a vital role in community life and was well known for her love of books and games, which she shared with her new friends. She lived her philosophy of inclusion, becoming the unofficial ambassador, committed to welcoming each new resident and connecting them to the community. Despite health challenges, she strived to live each day to its fullest, with strength, grace and courage.

She was preceded in death by husband Harold A. Smith and Vernon W. Wilson, parents William W and Mamie Brame, sisters Ola May, Elizabeth, Annabelle, Katie, Eva and brother Henry. She is survived by sister Bonnie and brother William and by daughters Rebecca, Robin and Norma, as well as a host of wonderful in-laws and cousins. A memorial service is scheduled at Meramec Bluffs Chapel on Thursday February 1^st. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts are directed to Wounded Warrior Project.