Martha Tudor

Martha Virginia McGowan Tudor, 98, passed away peacefully on June 27 in her home where she’d remained independent until a massive stroke four days earlier.

Born in Augusta, Ga., in 1928, she embodied Depression Era values of integrity, community, and honesty throughout life. She was the third of seven children born to Joseph Lamar McGowan Sr. and Bertha Powell McGowan. Her childhood was spent playing with her siblings, enjoying friends, and making memories on her grandparents’ farm in Wrightsville, Ga.

Martha was a 1945 graduate of Tubman High School, where she had many friends, was secretary of the Girls Glee Club, and was a sponsor of the Academy of Richmond County’s G Company. She married Arthur Allen Tudor in 1950, and later earned bachelor and graduate degrees in elementary education from Augusta College. She taught more than 20 years at Warren Road Elementary School. On her 97th birthday, more than 50 former students sent her notes and cards, many giving her credit for their love of reading.

A lover of all blooming things, and blessed with a green thumb, Martha and her late husband enjoyed growing roses and were active in the Augusta Rose Society. They maintained 150 rose bushes, won competitions, and served as a test garden for Jackson & Perkins. In 1987, Martha named a beautiful yellow Hybrid Tea they helped develop “The Larry Mize,” after the Augusta native who won that year’s Master’s Tournament. After her husband’s death in 1995, Martha converted their rose garden to a pleasure garden. For years, her fragrant blooms were sought by local florists for weddings and other events.

Martha is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her sisters Elease McGowan Morgan and Catherine McGowan Rueseler. Survivors include her son Ross Allen Tudor (Judy) and daughter Martha Anne Tudor, of Augusta; grandchildren Ann Tudor Aceski (Ivica) of Detroit; Mary Alice McDermott (Frank) of Atlanta; Eva Claire Schwartz of Athens, Ga., and Isabelle Tudor Schwartz of Washington, D.C. She also leaves four great-grandchildren: Samara Aceski and Nikolai Aceski of Detroit; and Arthur McDermott and Juliana McDermott of Atlanta. She is also survived by her brothers Joseph Lamar McGowan Jr. and William H. McGowan Sr., both of Evans, Ga.; Leon S. McGowan of Suwanee, Ga.; and Ancelan Carl McGowan of Sylvania, Ga.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 2, at Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church in Augusta, with a reception in the fellowship hall following the service. Memorial gifts may be made to Reid Memorial, 2261 Walton Way, Augusta, 30904, or online at reidchurchaugusta.org.