Biography:

Betty Jean McLaughlin Martin, 92, died in her Little Rock home on Monday, June 3, 2019. Friends and family are invited to celebrate her life at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 6 at Ruebel Funeral Home.

Betty was born on December 12, 1926 in the family home to Verne and Sarah Elizabeth (Kirk) McLaughlin in Little Rock. The youngest of four siblings, she had a lifelong best friend in her sister, Mary Ann Grabiel, who survives her. She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Charles I. Martin, Sr., and two brothers, Leigh McLaughlin and George McLaughlin.

Her son, Charles I. Martin, Jr. lives in Arlington, Texas, with his wife, Lisa. Daughter, Beverly Jane Martin is a lifelong resident of Little Rock. Betty has five grandchildren, three grandchildren-in-law and one great-grandson: Brett McCormack and wife, Megan, of Nashville, Tennessee; Keith McCormack and wife, Jami, of Little Rock. Greg McCormack and wife, Amy, and their son, Carter, live along the North Carolina shore. Paige Martin and Chip Martin reside in Arlington with their parents. They all think Betty was the best Mema in the world.

Betty graduated from Little Rock High School. When her children started school, she began to work as receptionist. She rose through the ranks to become a supervisory analyst with the Federal Home Loan Bank, a job that brought her to Dallas, Texas, in 1983. Upon retiring in 1990, she returned to her hometown where she became active at Trinity United Methodist Church and made and maintained lifelong friendships.

Beyond her adoring family, perhaps her greatest joy in her later years was her work with Halle, her shetland sheepdog who was registered with Therapy Dogs International. For more than a decade, Betty and Halle would visit local libraries  where children would to read them. Betty was the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center Volunteer of the Year for 2018.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the Humane Society of Pulaski County as way to honor Betty’s abiding love of animals.  There will be a funeral at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, 2019 in the chapel at Ruebel Funeral Home followed by burial at Pinecrest Memorial Park.