Martha Griffin Brinkley

            We are gathered this morning for the worship of God and to bear witness to our faith in the resurrection, the resurrection of all who are buried in Jesus Christ the Lord and the resurrection of Martha Griffin Brinkley. Martha died peacefully this last Thursday morning after an extended illness.  She had turned 82 on August 12.

            Martha Griffin was born and reared in Isle of Wight, the youngest of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Griffin.  Her father was a farmer and carpenter who moved his depression era family with some frequency.  Martha attended five high schools – and high school in those days ended with the 11^th grade!

            After high school Martha worked at the local general store in the community of drivers.  As the Second World War ended, like other young women of the time, Martha dated the returning young men home from the war.  She was dating one of them when her best friend happened to introduce her to another young man who immediately caught her eye.  Three months later, Martha Griffin and Pete Brinkley said their “I do’s”.  Pete and Martha shared 54 years of marriage together, and had two children, Rusty and Darlene.

            Pete went to work for the Virginia Department of Transportation.  They first settled in Portsmouth, where Martha handled the couple’s first home purchase – and the first GI loan closed in Portsmouth.  Later they moved to Great Bridge, Virginia.  Their two children were born and spent their early years there.  Martha threw herself into volunteer work at school and the local congregational church.  Her organizational skills and leadership were quickly recognized.  Martha headed up her children’s school PTA and was President of the church’s women’s organization.  In the summers she served as a counselor at church camp.  Martha worked in the 1960 US Census, starting as a canvasser, but soon becoming a team leader. Attendance at Labor Day reunions of Pete’s World War II army unit was an annual fixture on the calendar.  A highlight of these years was the family’s cross country camping trip in the summer of 1964 that included the New York World’s Fair.

            In 1966 the Brinkley family moved to Richmond and settled in Bon Air.  As their children grew up and left home, Martha and Pete traveled more.  Pete was a skilled craftsman who could build or fix just about anything.  Martha and Pete together built a river house at Gwen’s Island, and spent more and more time down there.

            After Pete retired in 1985, the couple traveled more extensively.  They went to Europe and Hawaii, and began spending the winters in Arizona.  They enjoyed card games with friends.  Martha was very attentive to her grandchildren and their participation in sporting events.                                  

Martha also enjoyed crossword and jigsaw puzzles, reading, and following the Atlanta Braves.  She loved to keep up with the politics of both parties.  She watched, gavel to gavel, the Democratic and Republican quadrennial conventions.

            Pete’s health began to decline in the late 1990’s, and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1999.  Martha kept him at home as long as she could, and then faithfully visited him at Ginter Hall South when it became evident that was a better environment for him.  Pete died in 2001.

            By then Martha was enjoying the company of her then young adult grandchildren and their spouses, even once vacationing in Las Vegas with them.  Pete and Martha had joined Bon Air Presbyterian Church in 1996, and she became active here, attending Wednesday night suppers and participating in her circle, and the mission efforts of the congregation.

            Martha was born into the Assembly of God Church, and joined what is now the United Church of Christ with her husband.  For the last twelve years she has been a member here at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. Whatever the style or confession of the church to which she belonged, Martha was a person of deep and abiding faith.  A child of grace, Martha was a loving and accepting person.  She loved and encouraged her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and welcomed into her heart and her family their husbands and wives.

            A person of quiet resolve and dignity, those around her sensed that Martha was a person of depth and character.  During her last and difficult illness, Martha’s friends and neighbors and the staff at The Virginian and even recently at the Laurels were appreciative of her strength and continued good spirits, in the face of adversity.

            Martha Brinkley was preceded in death by her husband, L.R. "Pete" Brinkley Sr.  She is survived by a daughter, Linda Darlene Spires and her husband, George; a son, L.R. "Rusty" Brinkley and his wife, Beverley; granddaughters, Laurie Haley and her husband, Michael, Elizabeth Clarke and her husband, Walter, and Mary Spires; grandsons, Shawn Brinkley and his wife, Trish, Phillip Brinkley and his wife, Heather, and Daniel Brinkley; and two great-grandsons, James and Kameron Haley, all of Richmond.  To all of you, we extend our compassionate love and prayers. 

            Now, having gathered for our mutual support and to hear the comfort of the scriptures, let us worship God:

R. Charles Grant

Bon Air Presbyterian Church

Richmond, Virginia

September 1, 2008