On Friday morning, November 24, 2017, Martha Ann Lemon, 89, of Acworth, GA, passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 Wednesday afternoon in the Acworth Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Greg Moore officiating. Burial will follow in Liberty Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends prior to the funeral service on Wednesday from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM at Collins Funeral Home. She is survived by her son, Mark Lemon, and her daughter, Janice Lemon Irvin, and two granddaughters, Angelina Marie Lemon, and Kelly Irvin.

Born in Gadsden, AL, on February 13, 1928, Mrs. Lemon moved as a young girl to Atlanta, in the Grant Park area.  One of her fondest memories occurred in 1939, when, at age 11, she attended the world premier of the film: "Gone With the Wind", at the Loew's Grand Theater, with all the film's stars in attendance.  As a teenager, she attended Girl's High School, where, during her senior year, she was elected president of Gamma Delta Beta Sorority.

After graduating Girl's High in 1946, she began working at the Trust Company Bank as a legal secretary.  While working here, Mrs. Lemon happened to meet Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone With the Wind," many times when she came into the bank to do her banking, and was always struck by the author's nondescript appearance.  After working at the bank during the day, she would attend Georgia State College in the evenings.  It was about this time that she met and began to date Frank B. Lemon, a WWII US Navy combat veteran, whom she eventually married in 1949.

After moving several times to various apartments and rooming houses, Mrs. Lemon and her husband moved to a house on Clairmont Rd in Decatur, GA, where they lived for many years.  In the 1950's, Mrs. Lemon began working as the personal secretary to the trademark attorney for the Atlanta-based Coca Cola Company, while her husband Frank worked his way up from labor to a management level position at Southern Bell Co.

Martha Lemon managed to juggle work with raising her two children, Mark and Janice, with great skill, and she was always an engaged, attentive and loving presence in their lives.  When her son Mark graduated from high school, she went back to work at various companies as a secretary, in order to put her son through college.  Not long after her children graduated from high school, she and her husband Frank moved from Decatur to Blairsville, GA, where they lived in a beautiful mountain home built almost entirely by hand by her husband, with Martha helping him.

In 1981, Frank suffered a severe stroke, and thus began a long and arduous phase in her life.  A faithful, loving and attentive wife, she helped her ailing husband through long sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy, which eventually resulted in some improvement on his part.  Due to this medical setback, Frank and Martha moved to Snellville, GA, where they could be closer to better medical facilities.

In 1992, they had occasion to purchase and bring back into the Lemon family, the famous and historic Lemon-Nichols House in Acworth, which has slipped from family hands in the 1970's.  After moving to this landmark property Martha and Frank spent several enjoyable years in their traditional family home place.  However, as years went by, Frank's health failed, which necessitated Martha spending increasingly more energy helping her husband.  In 1999, Martha and Frank celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their home, surrounded by many family and friends.  It was the 5th Golden Wedding Anniversary to have been celebrated at this historic home.  As Frank's health began to fail over the ensuing years, Martha worked harder and harder to help him, and, in 2006, his health was deemed so poor that he was admitted to Hospice.  Not surprisingly on the same day, Martha was also admitted to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with slight cardiac arrest.

In early 2006, Frank passed away, leaving Martha a widow with increasingly severe heart issues.  In 2010, she was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.  At about the same time, her son Mark moved into the home to help care for her.  Her health by this time was to the point that she required daily monitoring by her caregiver, and over the ensuing years, her health continued to decline.  This situation notwithstanding, she still managed to attend the Acworth Presbyterian Church regularly, and was also the founding President of the Acworth Garden Club.  In this capacity as president, her innovative idea of presenting a rotating series of planting experts to address the club, has resulted in the club's being quite successful to this day.

On Monday, November 20, 2017, Martha was admitted to Kennestone Hospital with severe upper respiratory distress, caused by complications of her Congestive Heart Failure.  She was released the next day and returned home, where she was attended by in-home Hospice nurses, her son Mark, his fiancé Sunny Arasmith, and Martha's granddaughter Angelina.

At 1:10AM on Friday morning, November 24, 2017, Martha Lemon passed away very peacefully in her sleep.  Her life was a testament to Christian love and fellowship, and her home was always open to visitors.  A devoted wife, mother, and friend, she will be sorely missed, and her example will be an inspiration to all who knew her.  Rest in peace mother.

Collins Funeral Home 4947 North Main St. Acworth, GA 30101 770-974-3133, is in charge of the arrangements.