of Jonesboro, AR

January 11, 1919 - March 30, 2018

Martha Boyd, 99, of Cash, passed away Friday, March 30, 2018, at St. Elizabeth's Place. She was born January 11, 1919, in Dexter, Missouri, to William Miles & Willie (Johnson) Inman. She was a housewife and a member of the Church of Christ.

The family wrote of their mother, ''Our Mom'':
Mom never talked about her childhood all that much. I really had to pry out what little information we have about her and also observing as we grew up. She did tell me that when she was in sixth grade, she had to quit school and do all the cooking and washing clothes as her mother had become ill when she had mom's little sister so she had to take care of them. She said she had to stand on a stool to cook as she was not tall enough. They had woodstoves back then. This was during the Great Depression.

She said she also liked to draw and loved art. Her father died in the middle of the Depression when she was 13 or 14. They had no garden to get food as there was no rain. Asked how they survived, she said one of her older brothers went to work for the CCC and sent them money and another continued to try to farm. Her mother took in washing for people. Her oldest brother took her to Ohio where she took care of their baby. She then came home and married my father when she was 16 where they farmed cotton.

My earliest memory is we all went to the field and chopped and picked cotton. Mom would stop for a while during noon and cook lunch. After we ate, she did the dishes while we rested, then we all went back to the field. Later, as we got older and dad began expanding the farm, he had to hire migrant workers. Although she only had a sixth grade education, she kept up with all the hours and amount of cotton they picked.

After working in the field all week, we all went to town on Saturday night. She made sure we always looked our best. She made all my clothes throughout my school years. In the fall, after we picked cotton, we would all get a new outfit. She only had one nice dress that she wore for church and when we went to Cash on Saturday night, she always looked like a model when she went out. Mom was a very classy lady throughout her life.

Mom always put us first. She never gave me or my brothers bad advice. I can still see her standing and ironing white starched jeans for my brothers so they would look nice when they went out. Mom taught us to be honest and hard working, and said, 'Always be yourself.' Asked why they always worked so hard, she said, 'We had a goal to work toward' and she achieved that goal. She got to travel to Hawaii, had nice clothes, car, and house. Our mom will be greatly missed.''

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Garland Boyd, four brothers, four sisters, and one grandson, Mark Boyd.

She is survived by two sons, Robert Boyd of Cash and Larry (Josey) Boyd of Jonesboro; one daughter, Kay (Lloyd) Evans of Weiner; grandchildren, Kieth (Cindy) Boyd, John Boyd, Amber Boyd, Nolan (Danna) Evans, Jessica (Paul) Bullington, Lynn Dorton; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Funeral service will be 2:00pm Wednesday, April 4, at Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home, 1900 West Washington, Jonesboro, with Jason Goad officiating. There will be a visitation from 1:00pm until time of service. Burial will follow at Cash Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Kieth Boyd, Kasey Boyd, Keegan Boyd, Nolan Evans, Paul Bullington and John Henry Troxler.

The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at St. Elizabeth's Place for their loving care of their mother.

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