Mrs. Winona Hester Dill Martin

Winona Hester Dill Martin, 81, passed away on April 4th, 2016 at The Oaks Nursing Home in Marshallville, GA after a long fight with breast cancer. Her funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 12th at 11 AM at Sherwood Baptist Church with interment to follow at Crown Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Sherwood Baptist Church on Tuesday, April 12th from 9-11 AM prior to the funeral. The Rev. Andy Cook will officiate. She was born Winona Lucille Hester on August 28, 1934 in Waterloo, GA to Sallie Lou Griffin Hester and Samuel Blake Hester. She was the salutatorian of the Irwinville High School Class of 1951, and was proud to be a varsity basketball player all four years of high school. Winona graduated from South Georgia College with an associate’s degree in education. She was married to Charles J. Dill, Jr and they moved to Albany, GA shortly after marrying. Winona worked as a secretary at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company and later at McIntosh Junior High, and then stayed home to raise her family. She later went back to work for the Dougherty County School System, first as a substitute teacher for Albany Junior High and then as an office manager for Northside Elementary. She also co-taught third grade Sunday school at Sherwood Baptist. After Charles Dill passed away in 1978, she married Glenn Martin in 1984. After a stroke in 1999, Winona moved near her daughter and son-in-law, Marsha and Mark Closson. She lived at the Presbyterian Home (now the Village) in Summerville, SC; Antebellum Grove in Warner Robins, GA; and the Oaks Nursing Home in Marshallville, GA. She enjoyed her time playing bingo and spending time with fellow residents, and her family is grateful to the many wonderful caregivers that tirelessly took care of Winona over the years. Winona dearly loved her family. She is predeceased by her mother, her father, her brother Harlon Hester, and both of her husbands, Charles J. Dill, Jr. and Glenn Martin. She is survived by her brothers Lanny Hester of Waterloo, GA and Russell Hester of Omega, GA; her daughter and son-in-law, Marsha Dill Closson and Mark Closson and their children Colleen and Samuel of Perry, GA and Summerville, SC; her daughter, Teresa Dill Mills, and her son Noah of Augusta, GA; nephews and nieces Paul Hester, Terry Hester, Ryan Hester, Nathan Hester, Kevin Hester, David Dill, Nancy Dill Freeman, Vicki Dill Bigney; beloved sisters-in-law and brother-in-law Gail Hester Fletcher, Cheryl Hester, Grace Dill, and Wiley Dill; and many other loved grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and great-grand nieces and nephews. Flowers will be accepted or memorial may be made to The Chaplain’s Fund, c/o The Presbyterian Home (The Village), Achim Daffin, Chaplain, 201 W 9th North St, Unit 140, Summerville, SC 29483 or to Sherwood Baptist Church, 2201 Whispering Pines Rd, Albany, GA 31707 in memory of Winona Martin.

Mrs. Winona Hester Dill Martin

August 28, 1934 - April 4, 2016