Recognizing the Life of Martha Ann Segars

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Martha Ann Segars who passed on January 19. I join her family, friends, and loved ones in mourning his loss.

Born on September 16, 1931 to Due and Ruby Nabers Thompson in Red Bay, Alabama, she graduated from Red Bay High School in 1949 and enrolled at the University of Alabama. She proved to be a talented seamstress in her fashion design classes, though she was a dietetics major. In 1952, she married Kelly Segars, her high school sweetheart. In 1953 she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Institutional Management and accepted an internship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Her husband was soon called to serve in the Korean War.

When her husband returned in 1955, she finished her internship and he worked as a pharmacist to prepare for Medical School. Their first son was born at Vanderbilt Hospital, and soon after Kelly was accepted into the University of Mississippi Medical School. Martha became a dietician at the VA medical center in Jackson. They soon settled in Iuka with their two sons and daughter. She continued to sew, work as a dietician, and manage the family farm.

Martha was dedicated to the Tishomingo County community and served in a variety of roles: she has served on the boards of the Yellow Creek Port Authority, Yellow Creek Watershed Authority, Tishomingo County Economic Development, Tishomingo County Tourism Council, and dozens more. She has also served as the President of the Iuka Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Arts and Historical Committee. She spearheaded the `Trash and Treasures along the Tenn-Tom,' and served as a tour guide for the Eagle Watch Cruises and the Fall Foliage Cruises on Pickwick Lake.

Left to cherish her memory are her children Scott, Mark, and Leigh; grandchildren Tyler, Jackson, Thompson, Annie and James; nieces, nephews, and countless community members whose lives she impacted.

Martha Ann Segars was a selfless community leader and an outstanding Mississippian. My thoughts and condolences are with those who knew and loved her.

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