Myrtle M. St. Martin

Munising

Myrtle St. Martin, age 99, of Munising, died Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at her apartment at Harbor View Assisted Living under the loving care of her family and North Woods Home Health.  She was born on June 10, 1917 in Cleveland, Ohio to the late Julius and Martha (Dumbrowski) Rappert.  Myrtle’s family moved north when she was a teenager, and spent some time harvesting crops in the Lower Peninsula.   When they arrived in Alger County, Myrtle her parents and her three younger sisters lived in a tent.  They lived off the land picking blueberries, and eventually built a one room log home off of Connors Road.

Myrtle began work as a housekeeper and providing child care.  She then worked at the Munising Wooden Ware, packing clothespins. This is where she first met Dick St. Martin.  Even though she thought the St. Martin name was funny, she could not resist Dick when he tried to impress her ice skating in Browns Addition.  They were married on November 26, 1938 and began their family.  While Dick served in WWII, Myrtle lived with her sister Rose Montcalm and together they helped raise their families while their husbands were serving overseas.  In 1947 they owned and operated St. Martin’s Grocery Store at 801 West Superior Street.  Myrtle managed the store while Dick drove truck for Bancroft Dairy and then Standard Oil. They ran the neighborhood store until 1955 when the family moved to Seney.  With Dick working full time for Standard Oil, Myrtle started working as a clerk at the grocery store, then ran the cabin rental and the Tull’s Motel, before purchasing the Seney Motel.

On top of her work and raising their children, Myrtle found time to volunteer.  She was a loyal volunteer at the Seney Wildlife Refuge.  Myrtle and Dick would run the operations at the Refuge one day a week, and they were critical members in the opening of the gift shop and museum there.  There was never a project presented to them, they were not willing to take on.  Myrtle was also a faithful and faith filled member of St. Therese in Germfask, and Sacred Heart Church in Munising.  She was a member of the Lady Foresters and any church volunteer group she could help with.  Myrtle was honored in Lansing as one of Michigan’s Women of the Year in late 1960’s for her hard work and volunteer service.

Myrtle was an amazing woman and mother, but even Super Man had his Kryptonite.  Hers was pain or blood of her children.  If one of the kids were in trouble or pain she was quick to go get help, but she did not want to be hands on in the rescue.

Myrtle loved to read, going to parties, playing cards, and being with friends.  She also had love for her candies and desserts, which she always had a special stash.

Myrtle was a reliable hard working woman, who was kind, friendly, honest, caring, and generous almost to a fault.

She is survived by her three children – Ron (Mary) St. Martin of Vienna, VA, Rose (Roy Robinson) St. Martin of Trenary, and Cheryl (John Foster) St. Martin of Meridian, ID; grandchildren - Jenny St. Martin, Robert (Laura) Hendrickson, Jason (Tammy) Hendrickson, Teresa (Dennis) Pitt, Christina (Hunter Westra) Saint Martin, and Katy (Andrew) Stemen; great-grandchildren - Aaron, Ryan, Sierra, Caitlyn, and Austin; sister-in-law – Dottie Oas; and numerous nieces and nephews.  Myrtle was preceded in death by her parents Julius and Martha; husband of seventy-two years Dick St. Martin; daughter Louise; siblings Esther, Rose, Margaret, Joe, and Gene; and grandson Clayton St. Martin.

Visitation will be on Saturday, June 3, 2017 from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Bowerman Funeral Home in Munising.  Mrs. St. Martin’s Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Chris Gardiner on Friday, June 30, 2017 at Sacred Heart Church in Munising at 12:10 p.m. Interment will be at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Munising.  Memorials in Myrtle’s name may be made to the American Legion Scholarship Fund.