Martha Loretta Rice Franklin (August 26, 1933 - December 17, 2023 )

 

Martha Rice Franklin, 90, entered into the presence of her Lord, and Savior, on Sunday, December 17, 2023.  She was born on August 26, 1933, in Caroleen, NC, a daughter of the late John Sherman Rice and Ethel Mae Allen Rice. For over 66 years she was the devoted and loving wife of the late Rev. Homer Eugene Franklin. 

Martha and her late husband were founders of Calvary Baptist Church of Cowpens, SC. Her ministry was serving the Lord by playing the piano, being a longtime Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher, and supporting her church any way that she could. Martha and her husband also led church services at White Oak Estates for many years. 

A dedicated and hard worker, Martha retired from Pentex (Alcon) in Cowpens and formerly was employed with Converse Mills. 

Martha is survived by her children, Tim Franklin (Cindy) of Lawrenceville, Ga, Deborah F. Logan (Charlie) of Jacksonville, FL, and Loretta Franklin of Boiling Springs, SC; 8 grandchildren, Kenny Arthur, Ben Arthur, Jonathan Logan, April Wyatt, Philip Logan, Joshua Franklin, Stephen Franklin and Brandon Franklin; and 25 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a son, Stephen Anthony Franklin, and siblings, Louise McDaniel and James Rice. 

The family will receive friends from 1:00-1:45 p.m. Thursday, December 28, 2023, at Calvary Baptist Church of Cowpens, 451 Pleasant Valley Road, Spartanburg, SC 29307. Funeral service will follow in the sanctuary at 2:00 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Jeff Jones and the Rev. Joshua Franklin.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. 

The family will be at the home. 

Flowers will be accepted, or memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church of Cowpens, P.O. Box 1811, Cowpens, SC 29330. 

Floyd’s North Church Street 

OBITUARY AND SLIDE VIDEO posted at https://www.floydmortuary.com/obituaries/martha-franklin

Converse Mill to be converted to 173 Loft Apartments by the end of 2022!

 So glad they did not tear this old mill down!  My mother started her working career as a stand by worker at the Converse Mill pictured here - on US 29 at the Pacolet River.   She had to show up each day to find out if they needed her to work  or not - if not, she went back home.  A friend of the family took her and brought her home each day.  She was glad when she was able to get a job at the Pentex Mill in Cowpens. She retired from there.   

from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal:  

After almost 50 years since operations stopped at the former Converse Mill along the Pacolet River, the site is being converted into 173 loft apartments.

The project has been in the works for the last several years but ran into some delays. Developer Britt Weaver said the $50 million project is set to be finished by December 2022.

"The deal was ready to close in 2019 and was HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) approved when the general contractor pulled out. So we had to start the whole thing over again," Weaver said. "It's been challenging and expensive but we got it done."

A chain-link fence is set up around the property and construction trailers are installed at the site. 

When developers announced the project in May 2017, it was scheduled to be completed by late 2018 or early 2019. The project, called Converse Mill Lofts, on Highway 29 received state income and historic tax credits.

read more at this link...

Matha's Story, page 6

After returning from our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, TN,  we went to Clifton, SC to live with Gene's mom for a few weeks.  We stayed with his mom for about a month.  Gene's Mom (Mattie Belle) was such a good cook.  She would not only cook good meals, but would also make cobblers or fried pies for dessert.  She really spoiled me.   When we were sitting in the living room, Gene's six year old nieces, Patsy and Judy, were also living at grandma's. They would peek through the keyhole to see what we were doing. Judy went with us many times to visit my mom and dad in North Carolina. She as told this story through the years "When we went to bed, I would be between them, but I would wake up on the other side of the bed!" 

After four weeks, we found a mill house to rent.  We didn't have much but we were so happy to have a place of our own.  In the summer of 1952, we purchased a Frigidaire.  Boy, were we thrilled!  We had been using block ice to keep things cold.  Then my mother bought us a beautiful dinette set. The color was gold and we loved it!

Martha' story, page 5

Mom continues her story. . . after the wedding, the honeymoon to .Gatlnburg . . .

Then we left for Asheville, N.C.  Doris and J.D. went with us because he did not have a car. We stayed at the Biltmore motel the first night. They asked us if we wanted a room together and when we giggled they knew better. The next day we went on to Gatlinburg, Tennesee, which was on a Sunday.

Before we left for Gatlinburg, we visited a church there in Asheville, North Carolina, where JD and Doris lived. Back then Gatlinburg wasn’t heard of, but for a long time now it has been a place where everybody wants to go!  On our way back home, my new husband bought me a new dress in Newport, Tennesee. I was real happy that he did this for me, and it seems that I remember that our folks were glad to see us back.              

Martha's story, pg 4

(Mom recounts details of her double wedding at this point - they were married in a double ceremony on December 22, 1951 with Doris Howell and J.D Early.  Also, I never knew that my uncle Howard was my dad's best man. That was neat to learn!  And Mom still talks about the person not showing up to play for the wedding.) 

We were very excited as we began getting ready for our wedding. Mama took me to Spartanburg and bought me a beautiful navy blue suit. Doris also wore navy blue and we both wore white hats. Gene and J.D. wore navy blue suits also. We had pictures made and had beautiful gladiolas and walked on white sheets. Gene’s pastor, Rev. Robert Shephard, married us and my sister, Louise, was my maid of honor. Gene’s brother, Howard, was his best man. We had a scare on Friday night during the rehearsal. The person who was supposed to play the music at our wedding did not show up, so we had to find someone.  We asked Miss Patricia Neal and she graciously consented to do it. Bobby Dean Hall sang “I Love you truly” and “The Lord’s Prayer”. They did very well and everything turned out wonderful. I need to add that our fathers gave us away. We were on cloud nine and were in love.  

After our wedding, mama cooked a lot of food for everyone to eat. She cooked meats, vegetables, and desserts. She was a good cook! She went to a lot of trouble because she loved us. 

Martha's story, page 3

Well, getting back to my story, this young man’s name was Gene Franklin.  From that Sunday on we started dating twice a week. One Thursday he didn’t come and I didn’t hear from him. I was ready to leave Saturday night but he got there before I left. He explained that he had been sick, so I understood.

            I was thrilled to be graduating high school (May 1951) but I didn’t know what I was going to do. I thought about going into nursing or taking a business course. I had an aunt and uncle from West Virginia and after they visited us and started to head home, they invited me to visit them. So I visited them for a few weeks. It seemed that Gene must have worried about whether I would come back. My aunt and uncle offered to send me to business school, if I stayed. But I came back home and Gene was there that weekend and asked me to marry him. He also had a ring with him. Of course I said “Yes!” We also started double dating with another couple in our church. Their names were Doris Howell (our pastor’s daughter) and J.D. Early. Since we were both engaged, we decided to have a double wedding at our church on December 22^nd of that year, at 6:00 p.m. We were so excited! 

Martha's story, page 2

Let me tell you something about my early life. I was raised in a Christian home. My dad was a Free Will Baptist preacher. He would go preach in North Carolina Mountains and mom, my sister (Louise), my brother (Jimmy), and myself stayed at home in Caroleen, N.C. 

I remember mama carrying me in her arms and my brother and sister walking by her side. Church was an important part of our lives and later, in my teen years, I taught the small children in Sunday school and was voted to be the pianist when I could only play one or two songs. Boy, it was scary! I also began taking care of Aunt Ann’s children, when I was thirteen and a half years old, while she worked. We had some good times and we would have birthday parties for each other.

Martha's story, "In the Beginning"

My mother spent many years writing and typing up her life story on an old typewriter.  When she had finished writing her memories and thoughts, she asked her granddaughter April Logan to enter it into a word document on the computer.  This is the first of many posts that will tell the story of my mom's life with my dad, in her words, this is how they met... 

“IN THE BEGINNING”

By: Martha Rice Franklin

            In the year 1947, I met a young man who was leading the singing in a tent revival in my hometown of Caroleen, N.C. I attended the services because as a Christian I enjoyed being where the Bible was preached. But there was another reason. I really liked this young man and also enjoyed hearing him sing. His hometown was Clifton, S.C. so other than getting to go to the services in the summer that was it. 

 

       Four years later, in February of 1951, I was at a talent program at Tri-High school, where I would graduate in May of that year. I heard someone call my name and when I looked around there was the young man that I had known four years earlier, but had almost forgotten. He asked to take me home and then came back the next day pretending to come to see my brother, Jimmy. He got there in time for Sunday dinner. Boy, Mama was a good cook! Some of the church folks would come to eat and they would rave about how good everything was. Those friends were Martha, Edna, and Lucille Coffey. They loved Mama’s banana and pineapple pudding. To me those didn’t look so good.  I had seen her wring the necks of so many chickens, that I couldn’t eat them. Later I saw what I missed and learned to love fried chicken. I liked everything else she cooked.