Joyce E. (Merkey) Martin, 93, of Lebanon, died on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, at the WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.
She was born on Feb. 2, 1931, in Hershey, a daughter of the late John K. and Katie M. (Kelchner) Merkey.
She was a 1949 graduate of South Lebanon High School and had a variety of jobs as a young adult, including at the Bon-Ton on Cumberland Street and in the administrative offices at Bethlehem Steel. She stopped working outside of the home when she married her husband, Lester A. Martin, but continued to use her skills to answer phones and do billing for her husband, a self-employed plumber. Her husband died in 2001.
She was a longtime member of St. James Lutheran Church and later became a member of Salem Lutheran Church when the two congregations combined. She served for many years at St. James as the person who helped coordinate volunteer efforts at Spang Crest. She loved to travel and was a master planner for a yearly week of vacation for her family. Many of those vacations involved attending Major League Baseball games throughout the country.
She is survived by her sons, Neil (Sue), Brian, and Jay (Liz), all of Lebanon; daughter, Brenda (John), of Greenville; three grandchildren, Angela, Cameron, and Justin; sisters, June Blouch and Lois Brown; and numerous cousins and nieces and nephews.
Along with her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, Leon; and sisters, Helen Hollinger and Mary Merkey.
Visitation will be held Monday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m. at Christman’s Funeral Home, 226 Cumberland St., Lebanon, with a funeral service beginning at 11 a.m. Burial will follow immediately at Millbach Cemetery, Newmanstown.
For more information or to offer online condolences or order flowers, please go to www.christmansfuneralhome.com.
