Brenda Smith Martin
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Brenda Smith Martin, age 82, died on April 29, 2022, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Brenda S. Martin is survived by her husband, Tommy R. Martin, and her daughter, Lanna Martin Kilgore (Dr. Scott F. Kilgore), of Bowling Green; three grandchildren, Meredith A. Kilgore of Nashville, TN, and Cate E. Kilgore and William "Clay" Kilgore; and her great granddaughter, Vivian Q. Kilgore, of Bowling Green. She was also survived by her brother-in-law, Dr. Wendell Lovan of Pensacola, FL, and her sister Judy Goff of Bowling Green, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mayme Estelle Pedigo Smith and Ernest L. Smith, and by her sisters, Sue Eicher and Virginia Lovan. Brenda S. Martin was born in Bowling Green, in 1940, to parents Mayme Estelle Pedigo Smith and Ernest L. Smith. She graduated from Bowling Green High School with honors in 1957, and from Western Kentucky University with honors in 1960 with an A. B., and received her Masters of Arts in 1965. In 1967 she received an Ed.S. from George Peabody College, which is now part of Vanderbilt University, and she completed her coursework in 1989 for a Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition at the University of Louisville. She was a teacher for her lifetime, having taught initially at Richardsville High School (1960-61) and Alvaton High School (1961-65) and at Western Kentucky Training (High) School (1967-70) and at WKU in the English Department from 1970-2002: Assistant Professor (1972-81), tenured (1977), and Associate Professor (1981-2002), teaching grammar and composition. Twice she received one of the most prestigious awards at WKU: the Potter College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Award of Excellence in Productive Teaching in April 1987 and in May 1996. Brenda S. Martin also taught Sunday School from the age of 16 at Westminster Bible Presbyterian Church and at Living Hope Baptist Church, where she loved teaching the Senior Adult Ladies' Class until 2010. She loved her family devotedly and taught her grandchildren and great granddaughter English, reading, poetry, and college algebra. She also was a voracious reader until shortly before her death and enjoyed interior design (Martin Design Company) and gardening. Her funeral is scheduled at J C Kirby & Son, Lovers Lane, for Friday, May 6, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation on Thursday, May 5, 2022, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., and Friday, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery. The family would like to thank Hospice of Southern Kentucky.