I first met Martha about 44 years ago, when my daughter Linda Ervin (about age 7 or 8 at the time) began doing gymnastics at the Academy of Dance and Gymnastics. Martha's daughter Sara (about the same age) was a gymnast there. Linda and Sara eventually moved on to the Flippers gymnastic team and then, much later, to the Pearce High School gymnastic team. Martha and I, along with other mothers, did a lot of carpooling and transporting during those years. But after our girls graduated from high school, Martha and I lost contact. A few years later, in the mid 1990s, when I working as a teacher and coordinator for the training program of C-CAD (Center for Computer Assistance to the Disabled), we needed a temporary substitute teacher. I contacted the retired teacher's organization in Richardson, and they gave the name Martha Surratt. I couldn't believe that it could be the same person, but it was! After Martha had worked for us for a few weeks, we realized that we needed her to be part of our team. She was a strong & ethical addition to C-CAD, as a teacher and as an organizer. We worked there together until after our organization was merged with a larger organization and then our program was discontinued in 2005. And during those C-CAD years, about 10 years total, she and I carpooled, riding together from Richardson to Infomart near downtown Dallas. We shared so many things…talking about work, of course, discussing our losses, sharing stories about our children and sisters, making our decisions to buy new cars at about the same time (in the year 2000). In addition to being a great teacher, Martha was a wonderful companion and friend. Also during those years I was fortunate enough to meet Martha's sister Mary. I was so glad to know that Martha and Mary were able to live in the same seniors apartment complex for the last few years of Martha's life. My daughter Linda and I extend our sympathy to Sara and Mary and the entire family. Myra Ervin Armstrong
