Martha Koon

Martha Craig Rucker Koon passed peacefully from this life surrounded by loving friends and family at her home in the Park Hill Historic District, North Little Rock, Arkansas on February 28, 2010, three days after celebrating her 99th birthday. She was born in Fulton, Kentucky, the only child of Lee Brown and Hester Brittain Rucker. She is preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, James Edward Koon, of Sheridan, AR; daughter Patsy Jean Koon Haun of New Orleans, LA; son Craig Lee Koon, of Memphis, TN; granddaughter Melissa Ann Haun of New Orleans, LA; and grandson James Kenneth Koon, Jr., of Louisville, MS. Gifted in music and voice, she attended Lindenwood College in St. Charles, MO. She started her married life in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1929 and was proud to have been a member of the Mothers’ Choral Group that sang on the steps of the Robinson Auditorium on opening day. An only child that married an only child, she took great joy in a bounty of family and friends and was known for her gracious hosting skills. Martha was active in many organizations throughout her life including the D.A.R., East Memphis Lion’s Club, a fifty+ year member of Mizpah Chapter #62, Order of the Eastern Star in Memphis, the Louisville Mississippi Fortnightly Club and Garden Club, and the Waveland Mississippi Women’s Club, and was a life long devoted member of the United Methodist Church. She retired from the State of Tennessee Highway Department – Right of Way Division as an Engineering Aide in 1976 after 10 years of service in the Memphis office. Martha returned to Arkansas as a Katrina evacuee from Waveland, MS. Her remarkable story of the “Cut Glass Punch Bowl”, a pre-civil war family heirloom packed inside a dishwasher that survived the horrific storm unscathed, has been the topic of magazine, newspaper articles and inspirational speeches. As she celebrated her 99th birthday, she proclaimed again, “Katrina may have gotten everything … it didn’t get me, I made it!” Her positive attitude, loving nature and the ability to see the beauty in every part of life will be her legacy to the remaining family members that celebrate her years: Son, James Kenneth Koon and wife Elizabeth of Louisville, MS; Daughter Martha Claire Koon Haun and husband Warren Scott Haun, of North Little Rock, AR; Grandchildren Warren Scott Haun, Jr of Danville, KY; Martha Jane Haun Nugent (Jim) of New Orleans, LA; Kimberly Ann Koon Major (Gary) of Weatherford, TX; John R. Wedaman, lll (Laura) of Jacksonville, AR; Carrie Alece Wedaman Skinner (Jason) of Memphis, TN; Laura Craig Koon of Atlanta, GA; Great Grandchildren Jessica Claire Boggio, James Edward Barr, and Julia Scott Nugent all of New Orleans, LA; James Kenneth Koon lll and Gerald Edward Koon of Louisville, MS; Fields Manly Major of Weatherford, TX; Moriah Claire Wedaman and Helen Renee Wedaman of Jacksonville, AR; Ethan Michael Band and Madison Marie Skinner of Memphis, TN. Special thanks to healthcare assistant Miss Emily Sauer. Family visitation will be held Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 5:00 ~ 7:00 pm at North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main Street. North Little Rock, AR Memorial services will be held in Louisville, MS, at the First United Methodist Church, 300 W. Main Street, Louisville, MS on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 2:00 pm with a committal service at Memphis Memory Gardens Cemetery, 6444 Raleigh Lagrange Road, Memphis, TN on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN or the First United Methodist Church Building Fund in Louisville, MS. Online obituary and guest register at www.nlrfh.com.

Martha Koon

February 25, 1911 - February 28, 2010