Odessa Martin

ODESSA MARTIN, beloved daughter of the late Thelma Martin of Baltimore, MD and Clarence Martin of Havre de Grace, MD, was born on August 16, 1951 in Baltimore, Md. She transitioned from this earthly realm to be present with our Lord and Savior on June 18, 2023 due to natural causes.

Odessa received her education in the Baltimore City Public School System attending Dunbar High School as a part of the graduating class of 1969. She later joined the staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital where she worked in Dietary  Services as a server, cashier and cook for over 30 years. In her free time, Odessa prided herself as a handywoman. She loved to paint and work on home improvement projects. As well, she could be found working in the community, from serving food to the elderly at the Apostolic Towers to helping coworkers file their taxes-she could do it all. She was a mainstay at the slot machines and routinely played the lottery at the local bar. A pillar of the community, Odessa knew everyone. She was revered by her neighbors and she even managed rental properties in her neighborhood.

She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior early in life while attending the Caroline Street Methodist Church in Baltimore, MD. Although she had lots of friends, she was best friends with her sisters Edna and Elzena. They were thick as thieves. They talked on the phone everyday and loved to hang out and go shopping, taking trips to the Inner Harbor and Fells Point regularly. Odessa's youngest sister, Ruthie, passed away at an early age. Subsequently, she and her husband, Tim, raised her nieces, Constance, Thelma and especially Shanay as if they were her own. More than anything, Odessa was a proud woman who prided herself as being someone who paid her own way.

She was preceded in death by her Mother and Father, Thelma and Clarence Martin, her husband, Earl "Tim" Lewis, her brother, Clarence Jr. "  Trudy" and sisters, Virginia, Ella Mae and Ruthie.

A life well-lived and filled with love, Odessa leaves to mourn her son, Michael Martin and daughter-in-law, Zina; her sisters, Elzena and Edna; her nieces (who were her bonus children) Constance, Thelma and Shanay; her grandchildren, Angela, Markell and Michael Jr.; great grands, Ayden and Chasity, as well as a host of other nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and beloved friends, family and coworkers. She will truly be missed.