January 31, 2001
107-year-old Pearl Martin dies
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
In 1893, Orville and Wilbur Wright opened a bicycle shop. No one had reason yet to remember the Maine. The U.S. had two presidents that year: Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland.
That September, Pearl Martin was born. She died Monday evening at her home at Elmwood at the Shawhan at age 107.
"She was very comfortable," said Martin's niece Willa Melick.
Martin had been in the hospital recently, but had been discharged, Melick stated.
"They said she was in perfect health," she said.
Martin died in her sleep, her niece said.
Martin was active well past her centennial, joining Toastmasters at age 104, even writing a book.
She was born and raised near Sterling, Colo. on a cattle ranch. Her family's ranch included 650 acres of prairie land for grazing cattle and raising crops.
Her mother's illness brought her into the field of nursing, and she became a practical nurse.
In 1932, she and her widowed father moved to Tiffin, where she worked as a nurse at the former Daughters of America Home for 30 years. While in Tiffin, she married her husband, Ross, Nov. 3, 1945.
The Pearl Martin Center, a nursing home on South Washington Street, was named in her honor.
Her obituary is on page 5A.