Martha Virginia Genz

Martha Virginia Genz died peacefully on October 20, 2018 in Waco, Texas. Funeral services are private. Martha was born on June 11, 1921 in Waco to Nona Shipman (Susie) Tidwell and John Thomas (Tom) Tidwell. Susie was the granddaughter of Daniel Shipman, a Texas pioneer. Tom was the president of Texas Coffin Company (TCC). Martha graduated from Mount Vernon Seminary and attended the University of Texas. During the war, she worked as a nursing assistant. She married Leonard Francis Genz in April of 1946 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, NY. She served as chair of the board of TCC from the nineteen seventies to the early eighties. She was preceded in death by her husband, Len, on December 6, 1980. Following Len’s death, she moved back to Waco where she was welcomed back by her childhood friends including Norma Sheehy Rhodes, Dorothy Kendrick, Margaret Roberts and Rosalind “Bootsie” Lewis. She will be sorely missed by her son Michael, his wife Patricia; grandchild Andrew Genz and his wife Carmen Ramirez of Washington DC; grandchild Daniel Genz and his wife Preeya of Dallas, Texas; and great grandchildren Gabriel, Nola, Grace and Kieran. She was a dedicated and loving daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. One great grandchild did a “family portrait” for her kindergarten class that included her mother, father, brother and great grandmother “Ginny”. Another great grandchild, then six, asked the congregation at a church service to pray for his great grandmother. They all beat a path to Waco, many times a year to be with her. She traveled the world several times over with her husband, and then with her son, family and several Waco friends. She had an incredible inquiring and open mind and was tolerant of anybody and anything—except intolerance and closed minds. She was, at once, kind and strong. Her example will live on in her family members and her many devoted friends—including Mary Glidewell, Rene Almanza, Celia Dupree, Lucinda Peeples and Niki Hayes of Waco: and Mickey Nix of Hutto. The Family wishes to express their appreciation to Providence Park for their care of her in her last years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorials be made to Providence Park or to the Salvation Army of Waco.