Sarah "Nellie" Annelle Martin

Sarah Annelle “Nellie” Martin was born March 31st, 1940, in Mitchell County, Texas to Albert Moss “AM” Holman and Lula Alyne Holman (Carmichiel). Nellie went home on January 31st, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. She will be remembered as a great wife, mom, granmom, friend, teacher, Sandie fan and follower of Christ.

Services will be at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at St. Stephen Church in Amarillo.  Burial will be in Memory Gardens Cemetery.  Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

Nellie grew up on a farm outside of Colorado City, Texas. While in school she loved her classmates and was voted Homecoming Queen as well as class favorite. She edited the yearbook and oversaw the school newspaper. Nellie and her sister Barbara were the best of friends and even got married within days of each other. Later in life they often traveled together and took turns keeping each other’s kids so the other couple could have some “alone” time. These weeks were cherished by the cousins, and they, too, grew up as the best of friends. Her love of journalism and documenting history never wavered. Some of Al and Patti’s most treasured keepsakes are books that their grandmother’s dictated to Nellie as they answered dozens of questions about what it was like growing up in the early 20th century, as well as some very good life advice. She continued to do this with her grandchildren, but the documentation added a new twist…photographs. When Al and Patti were cleaning out their childhood home after the death of George, they found thousands upon thousands of pictures in the garage, organized by year and grandchild. Her love of documenting life turned out to be one of her biggest gifts to her family. It was almost like she knew that she would struggle with Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life. Her stories had already been told and recorded.

Upon graduating from Colorado City High School, she moved to Abilene, Texas to attend McMurry College. She pursued her love of journalism in a variety of ways but majored in Elementary Education. She was very active in her social club and made many lifelong friends, including her future pastor Jim Smith and his wife LuAnn, and Bill and Evelyn Narrell, who also attended St. Stephen. Jim has often bragged that he met Annelle before George did. It was around her second semester on campus that she met the love of her life, George. They were married on August 9, 1963.

After graduation, she and Goerge both took jobs teaching school. While George only taught for a few years, Nellie made it a lifelong pursuit. She taught in Lubbock, Slaton, Midland and Amarillo, only taking a break when Al and Patti were not yet school-aged. Because Nellie was a schoolteacher and had to go to work every day, Al and Patti also had to go to school every day. Patti only missed two days of school from K through 12 and Al didn’t even miss one. Nellie was quite upset after Al’s graduation from Amarillo High School that he didn’t get some sort of award for the achievement. I personally think it was because Al didn’t get any sort of academic award, while Patti was at the top of her class (Al is writing this).

She taught elementary school and middle school, with the majority of her career divided between Bivins Elementary and Bonham Junior High School. She taught second grade at Bivins and reading at Bonham. Many of her students recall fond memories of their time in her class and have kept in touch. Nellie would often say that she “could teach anyone to read, and that everyone should be able to read”. She kept every gift, every note, every Valentine from every student she ever taught. It is no surprise that Nellie was “teacher of year” multiple times and had a curio cabinet full of crystal apples to prove it.

George and Nellie took a tag team approach to the grandkids. George would focus on teaching them to tie their shoes, shoot a pellet gun and how to properly throw and catch a baseball, while Nellie focused on reading and writing their letters and numbers. The grandkids spent weeks with their grandparents. George and Nellie made it their goal to make it to every game, concert, function or ceremony. There was a 4-year period where they would drive 17 hours to Kentucky to take care of the Martin clan when Al and Jodie had a chance to get out of town. George installed at least two microwaves in Al and Jodie’s house because Nellie got so distracted with the kids that she blew the microwave up. They took the grandchildren on many trips and special outings.

When it came to faith, Nellie was a true rock star. She loved her church and served in any way that was needed. She started a “home bound” ministry in the 1980’s because she didn’t want anyone to miss out on community. She continued visiting “old people” well into her late 70’s…many of whom were younger than she was. She taught countless children Bible stories on felt boards. She “adopted” college students and took care of them while they were away from home. Nellie served in just about every aspect of the church.

Nellie’s prayer life was real. She understood that “prayer is not a means to the end…it is the end”. Her entire adult life began at 4:30 in the morning with her Bible open and a prayer journal in her lap. When cleaning out the house, Patti and Al found stacks of prayer journals. She was member of the church prayer team for over 50 years. If she said she was praying for you, you better believe she was.

In the 1970’s Nellie and the other ladies in the John Mark Sunday school class would host Vacation Bible School in a local park on the other side of town. Al and Patti were told to go play at the playground and about 45 minutes later, Nellie would come get them and tell them to bring all their new friends back to the pavilion for crafts, snacks, songs, games and a Bible story. This would go on through out the summer…for multiple summers. While Al and Patti were in elementary school, Nellie would host “God’s Armor” in their house. Al and Patti were just told to “bring your friends home with you”. “God’s Armor” was a home VBS, every week. Nellie did this until her mid 70’s with other organizations and individuals in Amarillo, a favorite being “Mission 2540”.

It was in the late 1970’s that George and Nellie developed a new passion, a passion for the countless student athletes that passed through the halls of Amarillo High. George and Nellie began taking their own children to Sandie games to watch the son of George’s partner and great friend, Mac McMenemy. They never stopped going. They never stopped cheering. They never stopped supporting. Decades after their own children graduated from Amarillo High, Nellie and George could be seen at every volleyball, basketball, and football game. Whether at home or on the road, they were there. They did this until George couldn’t do it anymore due to health issues. They might be the only fans that can claim to have seen every state championship, win or lose, that the Sandies had been in from 1986 to 2018. You could often hear George and Nellie telling fellow fans that they remembered when a current player’s mom, dad or other relative “won the state championship” or “had a great game against Tascosa”. They were truly the biggest Sandies fans. While she never attended Amarillo High, she embodied the mantra, “Once a Sandie, Always a Sandie”.

Nellie was the best “granmom” to Kayla, Hayden, Maddux, Maddison and Mason. They were blessed to have her as their “person”. Nellie was the best mom you could ask for. When reading through her family prayer journals we saw decades of devotion to her children. She sacrificially gave to all of them. She loved all her people, and they loved her.

Nellie loved George. George loved Nellie. They focused so much on their children that when they moved out, George and Nellie finally enjoyed getting to focus on each other. George retired when he was just 57 years old, and his focus turned to Nellie. They traveled all over America. They visited all 50 states, all the state capitols, most of the national parks and almost all of the MLB stadiums. They had a hobby of taking pictures of lighthouses and stopping to read historical markers. They loved just being together. Five years ago, in a weird set of circumstances, they were both hospitalized at the same time. In a sweet moment they found themselves being pushed past each other in their own hospital beds. Al told the nurse who was with dad “that lady coming this way is his wife”. They paused in the middle of the hallway and held hands. The nurse asked, “how long have you been married?”. George replied with a loving look, “58 years, we’ve got a good start on it I think”. I know there was a great reunion on January 31, 2026.

Nellie was preceded in death by her parents, Albert Moss “AM” Holman and Lula Alyne Holman, her husband George, and granddaughter Christian. She is survived by her sister Barbara McMillan, daughter Patti Messamore and husband Dan, son Al Martin and wife Jodie, grandchildren Kayla Laldin and husband Jacob, Hayden Messamore and wife Patty Holley, Maddux Martin, Maddison Martin and Mason Martin, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.