Billie Jean Martin

Billie Jean Martin left earth on August 20th, 2024, to be reunited with her predeceased loved ones and to meet her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Heaven. Her story began in rural Cherokee County NC, where she was born to Matilda (Stiles) Dockery and James Henry Dockery on February 19th,1936.  She was the seventh in a lineage of nine children. She spent her youth in the Shoal Creek community of Cherokee County, before her family left for work opportunities in Gastonia. Shoal Creek and Cherokee County long continued to occupy a special place in her heart as the family would yearly return to their ancestral home and decorate the graves of family members. In 1954, she would marry the love of her life, Harry Basil Martin Jr, after meeting him while he was originally courting her sister.

The marriage to Harry produced seven children, who survive Billie Jean: Rickey (Kim), David (Ann), Daniel (Dorothy), Jeffery (Tammy), Sandie Alexander (Tommy), Cindy Bees (Tommy), and Charles (Andrea). Raising seven children is no small feat, to be sure. Raising seven children while her husband worked as an Over-The-Road Truck Driver and she simultaneously worked full-time (TiCaro Threads) would be nearly impossible to most, but Billie Jean found a way to make it work, managing the family and raising children in a tiny mill house. Billie Jean was proud that four of her children would give nearly a century's worth of service to our nation. Ricky served in the Navy, Daniel served in the Army, David was an expert marksman in the Marine Corps, and Jeff retired as a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force. She was also very proud of her twin daughters, Cindy and Sandie, and her baby boy, Chuck. Her children grew to be productive members of society and gave Billie Jean sixteen grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Her grandchildren recall her home to be full of cousins, laughter, food, and all the things that make a family. The Christmas Eve gathering was a favorite family tradition as all the children and grandchildren would gather in the family room to open gifts. Somehow, the small room always had enough space, and Billie Jean always had her camera or camcorder nearby to document the occasion. The photographs are now her family's treasures and cherished memories.

Billie Jean would lose her husband in 1996, having spent several years as his caretaker, a responsibility she held in solemn vow, protective of her beloved Harry in his final days.  In the years after Harry's death, Billie Jean would dominate the Senior Games scene in Gaston County, winning dozens of medals, and she also enjoyed traveling, especially with her special friend (Mr. Bill). Even as Alzheimer's Disease began to limit her physical and cognitive abilities, her loved ones would still see glimpses of her determined, resolute personality. The Martin Family would like to thank the staff of White Oak Manor in Shelby for their kindness and care during her transition from life. Her service, which she meticulously designed with sixteen bullet points, will be held 12:00pm, Saturday, August 24, 2024, at Temple Baptist Church, Gastonia, NC. Interment will follow the service at Westview Gardens, Bessemer City, NC.  The family will receive friends from 6-8pm, Friday, August 23, 2024, at the South Chapel of Greene Funeral Service, Gastonia, NC.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Gaston Hospice - PO Box 3984, Gastonia, NC 28054.

Condolences may be made online at www.greenefuneral.com