Martha Ann Day

Martha Ann Elkins Day, age 88, of Pine Bluff, died on Sunday, June 30, 2019. Martha Ann was born September 13, 1930, in Pine Bluff to Hattie Lee Ridgway Elkins and Ben Elkins. She graduated from Pine Bluff High School and Hendrix College, returning to Pine Bluff to serve as a teacher for over 30 years in the Pine Bluff School District. While teaching in Pine Bluff, she met a young real estate abstract and title agent who happened to work next door to her parent's electrical outlet supply store and married Maurice Jerome Day on June 4, 1960. They were married for 50 years until his death in 2010. Teaching math to many students over the years was her life's work. Martha Ann was the chairperson of the math department at Pine Bluff High School as well as one of the representatives to local and state teacher organizations. Tenth grade geometry was her specialty, and she proudly taught the children of many of her former students over the years, remembering all of their names and connections. A life-long member of Hawley Methodist Church, she cared deeply about the church and served in leadership and teaching roles at the church until the day before she suffered her stroke in 2017. After she regained her speech she did not hesitate to offer her guidance or remind the other members to do certain tasks! In the community, Martha Ann was an active member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Teachers' Society. She also served for many years as the treasurer for the Jefferson County Retired Teachers' Association. She volunteered in classrooms and supported teachers at W.T. Cheney Elementary School. Martha Ann enthusiastically talked to everyone on the phone, by email and by text, connecting with family, friends, church members and grandchildren to hear what they were doing and stay involved in our daily lives. She was a resource of dates, times, family trees, instructions and cooking recipes for all of us. Her enthusiasm for knowledge and standards of excellence will always inspire us and everyone that she taught. Survivors include a daughter, Lee Ann Day Shell of Los Altos, Calif.; two sons, M. Jerry Day, Jr., M.D. of Wollongong, Australia, and Thomas Elkins Day, M.D. of Searcy; her grandchildren, Natalie, Meredith, Benjamin, and Christopher Shell, Olivia and Angus Day, and Nathaniel and Alyssa Day. Memorial services will be Saturday July 6th at 11:30 a.m. at Hawley Memorial United Methodist Church with Reverend Edna Morgan and Reverend Wayne Clark officiating. Interment will be private. Arrangements are by Fuller Hale-South Funeral Services. The family would like to visit with friends immediately following the service. Please make memorials to Hendrix College (attn. Martha and Maurice Day Family Scholarship Fund), 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, Ark., 72032 or Hawley Memorial United Methodist Church, PO Box 991, Pine Bluff, AR 71613. Online condolences: FullerFunerals.com