Ann Marie Martin Horton

Frederick (Freddie) and Dauris Holmes Martin waited for some 17 years after the birth of their first baby, a son named Louis (Louie), to present their second child to the world. It was Valentine’s Day in 1957 when Ann Marie showed up and completed the family in South Waverly.

Ann’s passing on Saturday, September 28, 2024, brought to a close a lifetime of goodness and kindness that graced the lives of everyone she met. Ann graduated from Sayre High School in 1975, where she had played basketball and was a cheerleader. That proved to be prophetic, since Ann was a leader in bringing cheer and fun to any gathering she attended throughout her entire life.

Five years after graduation, she married Bob Horton, of Athens, becoming stepmom to his young son Jim, and eventually, Grandma to Jim’s sons, Dylan and Devin, all of whom she loved as if they were her own.

Ann was a worker…out of high school, she worked as a waitress at the Sayre Motel and in the offices of American Rail Car. Early in her marriage, she worked with her husband in the Owego bar-restaurant that carried his name…Bob’s Place.

In 1982, Ann took a receptionist position at Guthrie Clinic, and spent the next 40 years earning the respect of her peers and climbing the ladder of success there, retiring two years ago as Operations Manager. Over those decades, she showed her ability very day to enhance the lives of untold numbers of patients and co-workers with her ever-present smile and her incredibly upbeat personality. You couldn’t help but enjoy being in Ann’s company.

Work was important to Ann, but it wasn’t everything. She was an avid golfer, who cherished playing 18 holes with her girlfriends, both at home and on the road. Many were the golfing trips to Myrtle Beach and other southerly courses, as well as Wine and Golf trips through wine country – a sweet Reisling was always her choice – spending overnights and waking up to another round of golf before heading home.

Ann and Bob, and a circle of friends, vacationed often at Ocean City, Maryland. Her friends were an important part of her life and she was always a true and loyal friend to all who were blessed with her friendship.

The simple things like sitting on the front porch and chatting with visitors brought joy to Ann, as did just sitting in the sun with a good book. One of the most remarkable things about Ann was her relentlessly positive attitude, never more evident than when she endured attack after attack on her health by a seemingly endless variety of cancers. In the darkest of days, Ann never complained, and never failed to ask how the other person was doing instead of worrying about herself. Illness could invade and restrict her physical being, but it could never confine her spirit. Ann attributed much of her ability to endure those hard times to the faithful and ever-present care and support of her husband, Bob.

Ann was predeceased by her parents, Freddie and Dauris, and by her grandparents, Alfredo Martini (it was he who dropped that final “I” from the name), and his wife, Mildred Schuyler Martin. Her maternal grandparents, Ira and Kathylene Holmes went on ahead of her as well.

Left behind to grieve Ann’s passing and to cherish the memory of her wonderful life are her brother Louis and his wife Pat, and their three daughters, Michelle, Linda, and Suzanne and their children.

Grieving along with Bob are Jim, Dylan, and Devin, as well as Bob’s siblings, Tom and his wife Darlene, Gary and his wife Sue, Karen and her husband Lloyd, and Kay, as well as all of their many children.

In lieu of flowers, Ann asks to be remembered with donations to the Nancy Quatrini Fund, One Guthrie Square, Sayre, PA 18840, or to the animal shelter of your choice.

Abiding by Ann’s wishes, there will be a time of visitation on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 10 am – 1pm at the Lowery-Urban Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc., 225 South Main Street, Athens, PA. A private funeral service and burial in the Tioga Point Cemetery will be at the convenience of the family with Pastor Linda Rogers presiding.

Ann’s final spoken wish was that all of her friends and family would raise a glass of wine (preferably a sweet Riesling) and remember that her spirit would be there with them.

“I believe there are angels among us,  Sent down to us from somewhere up above… To show us how to live, To teach us how to give, To guide us with the life of love.”                                                                                                                            Heaven has surely called one of its angels home.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ann Marie (Martin) Horton, please visit our floral store.