Martha Strong Lueg

Martha Strong Lueg, born Martha Chrystene Strong and previously Martha Matthews, passed away in Amarillo, Texas, on March 24, 2026. She was 82 years old. A memorial service will be held in Tyler, Texas, on June 20, 2026, at 1 pm in the chapel of First Presbyterian Church. The compass of her life cannot measured by the scope of where she lived and traveled but by the depth of the love she felt for her many pets, students, friends, and family and they in turn for her.

For much of her life, Martha lived on either side of the border of east Texas and southwestern Louisiana. She was born on June 9, 1943, in wartime Beaumont, Texas, to “Margie” Adams Strong and Walter Garland Strong. Their growing family moved in 1946 just over the Louisiana border to Sulphur. Her father built their home on Vine Street and worked in the energy sector while her mother cared for their expanding family. Martha joined her older brother Walter, born in 1940. Myra Carolyn followed in 1945 and Pat in 1948.

At that time, Sulphur was transitioning from a small Cajun community perched between the broad saltmarshes of the Gulf of Mexico and inland cypress swamps to a landscape of oil refineries and chemical production factories, a rich gumbo of workers and professionals. Martha’s childhood revolved around school and sports, AA baseball on the radio, an active church community, a house full of friends and family, and frequent trips to see relatives across the region, especially Jasper, Hemphill, Beaumont, and Houston.

Upon graduating high school in 1961, she first attended Centenary College in nearby Lake Charles before transferring to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she graduated with a degree in history in 1964. She maintained contact with many friends from Sulphur and Baton Rouge over the span of her life.

After graduating from LSU, Martha became a middle school teacher at Saint Anne Catholic School in Houston. In 1966, she went gigging for flounder in the shallows of the Gulf on her first date with John Holley Matthews, who had grown up Houston. Their mothers had been friends as girls in Jasper, their families in regular contact. Martha and John married in August of 1966.

John took a job in Corpus Christi, where they rented a home briefly near the shore until 1968, when they bought a house on East Third Street in Tyler, where they lived until 1991. Named after his father, their first son was born in July 1968. Her parents moved nearby in 1969 after Martha’s father had a series of strokes, and she was with him at his passing in 1970.

She began part time work at the Carnegie Public Library in Tyler, building on a lifelong love of books and education. Their daughter Martha Chrystene was born in 1973. Martha began commuting to Denton, Texas, for a master’s in library science. Upon finishing her MLS in 1975, Martha worked at Dogan Middle School and then John Tyler High School. The family was active in First Presbyterian Church, while Chrystene and Martha were active together in a local ballet and modern dance studio. Their home was often full of stray dogs and cats, and sometimes geese, rabbits, and goats as well. Though John was often away for the Army Reserve, she made a warm and loving home with her children and their friends.

In 1991, turmoil in John’s work led to his unemployment, and they both found jobs again in Galveston, Texas, living near Bermuda Beach within sight and sound of the waves. Galveston was a creative period for them both, working in nearby schools. John purchased an old family home in Jasper during this period, and they began spending their summers in east Texas for several years before moving permanently to Jasper upon her retirement in the early 2000s.

Life in Jasper was both active and challenging. Martha volunteered widely. After Margie passed away in 2004, Martha chose to separate from John after 38 years of marriage in early 2005, remarrying late that year to Carl Lueg and resettling in McAllen, Texas. She and Carl had known each other as children, and he provided a bridge to her past. With Carl, she gained six stepchildren and Connor King, a grandson. Martha welcomed a new grandson, Austin John Matthews, from her son John and his wife Kerry in 2010. Martha actively cared for her brother Walter following a devastating illness during this period, often traveling to Sulphur to be with him until he passed in early 2010.

In 2017, Carl and Martha relocated to Fredericksburg, Texas, in a bright Austin chalk home on Travis. Martha was very involved with her new family, pulling them together through kindness and humor. Carl was fully retired but active with restoring old cars, dancing, and telling Cajun jokes. They loved the charm of Fredericksburg together. Carl’s health slowly declined, and he passed away after a short illness in June 2024.

Later that year, Martha bought a home in Amarillo to be closer to her daughter Chrystene. She had hopes of more travel and time with her loving extended family — all of her children. In November 2025, she suffered a small stroke at home, followed by a series of more severe strokes on a visit to her sister Myra in Little Rock. In January, she was able to relocate back to Amarillo, but her decline continued. In late March, she began hospice in a facility, when she was blessed to be visited by and speak with many loving friends and family members. She passed away at The Ward on the evening of March 24. Chrystene and Dustin Speed were with her in those last hours and moments.

Martha will be remembered as someone who loved quickly and deeply, with kindness and laughter. She treasured her cats and flowers, her children and grandsons, and her many deep and long-lasting friendships.

She is survived by two children: son John Matthews and his wife, Kerry Watkins, and their son, Austin Matthews; as well as her daughter Martha Chrystene Speed and former husband Dustin Speed. She is also survived by her six stepchildren and their families: Ehren Lueg and husband Rick Bradford; Erica Lueg and husband Grady King and their son Connor King; Charles Lueg and wife Justine; Jenna Terven and husband Forest; Carl “Trey” Lueg; and Rebecca Lueg and her fiancé Brandon Lovell. She is further survived by her sister Myra Carolyn Kinnebrew and her husband Lee “Chips” and their children and grandchildren and by her brother Pat Strong and his wife DeeDee and their children and grandchildren.

She will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, near her parents and brother Walter. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor may be made to:

1. The Texas Library Association, honoring her legacy as a Texas school librarian https://member.txla.org/donate](https://member.txla.org/donate

2. The Sea Base Alumni and Friends Association Scholarship Fund, reflecting her belief in expanding opportunities for students beyond high school https://member.txla.org/donate](https://member.txla.org/donate