Audrey's Newest Angel

Martha Lea Barclay Fasnacht passed away on Thursday, August 1, 2013, at the age of 88 years. She was the fourth child (second daughter) of Audrey and Erna, loving wife of Wayne, dear mother of Karen, Denny and Becky, sister of my father and seven other siblings. 

Martha (Barclay) Fasnacht - July 1996

Among the things that are special about Martha is the love story she shared with Wayne, her husband of 70 years. They met at a Springfield, Missouri, roller-skating rink in 1942 on the second night that Wayne, a young soldier, was in Martha's hometown for boot camp. They married in 1943 and had their first child in 1944, six weeks before Wayne was shipped out to France. In the year and a half he was overseas in service of our country, they wrote letters to each other, every single day, declaring their love. Both of them saved the letters they received, approximately a thousand all totaled, all of which have been preserved by their daughters chronologically in 15 three-ring binders.

Wayne is 94 years old now. He knows Martha is gone but struggles to remember why she isn't with him. This time it is Martha who has been called away. There may not be letters during this temporary term of separation, but I believe with all my heart that Martha will not stop sending her love to Wayne.