Martha Rollins

With a life that spanned nearly a century, Martha Rollins brought such beauty and grace to the world around her. She was kindhearted and mindful of others, genuine and compassionate. Martha was a devoted wife and loving mother whose children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were her greatest source of pride and joy. Accompanied by a lifelong faith, she lived to serve others, her life a living breathing example of what it means to be the hands and feet of the Lord she loved. A woman who was beautiful on the inside and out, Martha will be forever missed.

With the formal end of WWI in 1919, America was recognized as a world leader for the first time and poised for greatness. The decade that followed was a lively one, often remembered as the Roaring Twenties when radios, affordable cars, and huge success in the world of flight were signs of the time. It was just as the calendar turned to welcome in this exciting decade that Gerald and Jeanette (Neele) Minnema were blessed with the birth of a baby girl on September 20, 1920. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Martha was the older of two children in her family and was raised alongside her brother, John.

As the prosperous 1920s gave way to the 1930s, times were anything but easy as the entire decade was cloaked in the hardship of the Great Depression. This experience greatly shaped Martha as she learned what it means to be frugal and used these skills throughout her entire life. She made sure to never waste anything and never passed up anything that was free. Martha attended Creston Christian School and went on to graduate from Creston High School.

Life was forever changed for Martha when she met the man who stole her heart. His name was William “Bill” Rollins, and after dating for a time they were united in marriage. It wasn’t long before they welcomed their first child, Diane, into their hearts and home. She was later followed by four more children over the 20 years that followed including Nancy, Karen, Cindy, and Jeffrey. Many of their years were spent living in a home on the corner of Spencer and Diamond. The Rollins family also did a lot of camping during the summer, often living in their trailer in a park that was nearby where Bill was doing construction work. Always one to be busy, Martha ran a tight ship at home and was very good at delegating tasks to her children.

Throughout her life Martha lived an active lifestyle. She was very involved in her church, East Leonard Christian Reformed Church, where she served in a variety of ways. Martha was more than willing to help with numerous wedding and funeral luncheons - so much so that she joked around saying that she could have started her own food service business! When they were younger Martha and Bill enjoyed playing tennis together, and she also enjoyed fishing. Blessed with a sharp mind, she loved games and puzzles of all kinds including several card games, scrabble, cribbage, word searches, cryptograms, sudoku. This also meant that she enjoyed watching and playing along with any quiz shows on television. As her friends and family can attest, Martha was an avid sports fan who was very into Tigers baseball and Michigan State teams, but she also enjoyed any football or basketball game. In fact, it has been said that the only time that Martha was sitting still was when she was watching a game!

After their children were older, Martha and Bill found some new interests. They traveled quite extensively including to nearly every state in their motorhome. The couple also traveled abroad to Europe and also made a trip up to Alaska. For several years they left the cold Michigan winters behind and became snowbirds who spent the season in Florida. Even after Bill died Martha continued going to Florida on her own, and she enjoyed working at Disney World in Orlando.

While in Florida, Martha met a man named Richard Parker. They fell in love and were married on Valentine’s Day. Their winters were spent in Florida, but during the summers they were in his hometown in Massachusetts. This opened up a whole new world in sports for Martha as she added more teams to cheer for including the Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox. After several years of marriage, Martha was deeply saddened with Richard’s death.

Shortly thereafter, Martha returned to Grand Rapids to be near her family. She settled in Westminster Meadows and picked up right where she left off with her local family and friends. Martha eventually had to give up driving, but she was still able to get around thanks to family and friends. She kept up with others by talking on the phone, and if there was ever any news to report Martha was the first to pass it along. As someone who was genuinely interested in those around her, she had a great memory for the names of people and places in addition to important dates of all kinds.

A bundle of energy all day long, Martha Rollins filled her life with countless enriching experiences shared with the ones she loved. She was friendly and outgoing with the ability to talk to anyone at any time, and she was always ready with a hug, too. Even though life was not always easy, she was generally upbeat and not one to complain. Martha will be missed for her vivacious personality, her fun-loving spirit, and her never-ending acts of kindness, but it will be her unconditional love that will be her lasting legacy. The memories she leaves behind will be forever cherished.

Mrs. Martha Rollins, age 93 of Grand Rapids, went home to be with her Lord on April 17, 2014. She was preceded in death by her first husband, William Rollins in 1997; her second husband, Richard Parker; her granddaughter, Katie Hollebeek Sposato; and her brother, John Minnema. She is survived by her children Diane Klein, Nancy (Jay) Barnhart, Karen (Thomas) Hollebeek, Cindy (Robert) Rosema, Jeffrey Rollins; grandchildren Deb (Keith) DeJong, Robert (Naomi) Klein, Mark (Nikki) Klein, Richard (Kristen) Klein, Patricia Klein, Kristen (Justin) Norman, Kerry (Leroy) Lozada, Kevin (Katie) Hollebeek, (Albert Sposato), Jill (Eric) Hune, Andrea (Chad) Helton, Michael (Joslyn) Rosema; many great grandchildren. A service to remember and celebrate her life will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 2 PM at East Leonard Christian Reformed Church, 1027 Leonard NE where friends may visit with her family from 1 pm until the time of the service. Interment in Elmwood Cemetery, Cedar Springs. For those who wish, memorial contributions to either Salvation Army or East Leonard Christian Reformed Church are appreciated. To read more about Martha's life, to share a memory or to sign the guestbook, please visit www.lifestorynet.com