Sylvia May

SYLVIA MARIE NEIGHBORS MARTENS MAY

Sylvia Marie Neighbors Martens May, age 88, a long time resident of Cass County passed on to be with her Lord on the morning of June 26, 2012 at the Atlantic Rehab and Nursing Center in Atlantic, Iowa.

Sylvia was born March 26, 1924 the daughter of Farmer Sylvester Neighbors and Mable Maget Neighbors in Oakland, Iowa.  She was a graduate of Griswold High School.  She and her husband, Joel Martens, lived on a farm east of Lyman, Iowa until they built Martens Manor, a nursing home, in Griswold, Iowa in 1963.  She later obtained her LPN and Administrators license to assist in running the nursing home.  She attended Gospel Chapels in both Lyman and Atlantic, which included attending Twin Lakes Bible Camp each summer as the camp nurse.   She was also a member of the Christians Women’s Club in Atlantic.  Sylvia was active in the Red Hat Society, where she made many friends.  After retiring, she attended classes and became an accomplished artist.  Many of her paintings hung in local business offices.  She enjoyed traveling with friends throughout Europe and Mexico. Her hands were never still, even while traveling she knitted.  She wrote poetry and sewed clothes for her family.  Many times her daughters would be walking out the door in a dress she had made, while she finished the hem.

She is survived by her children, daughter Victoria Hicks and husband, George, of Canton, Georgia; son, Kent Martens, of Omaha, Nebraska and daughter, Holly Meyer, and husband, David, of Cumberland, Iowa.  She is survived by 6 grandchildren, Barton Rodr and wife, Jennifer, of Edmond, Oklahoma; Elaina Rodr of Edmond, Oklahoma; Clint Meyer of Underwood, Iowa; Curt Meyer and wife, Alison, of Omaha, Nebraska; Kimberly Arends and husband, Brian, of Luverne, Minnesota and Jeffrey Hicks and wife, Angela, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. As well as 7 great grandchildren, Joshua, Cheyenne, Nicholas, Zachary, Shelby, Cooper and Tyler.

Preceding her in death were her two husbands, Joel Martens and Keith May; an infant daughter, Nan Marie Martens;  her parents, Farmer and Mable Neighbors, and a brother, Richard.  Also preceding her in death were Joel’s parents, Henry and Cora Martens.