Martha Guess Obituary

Martha Gage Howell Guess DENMARK, SC - Martha Gage Howell Guess, age 95, died peacefully at her home in Denmark, South Carolina on November 30, 2015. She was predeceased by her husband, St. Clair Prothro Guess, Jr. of Denmark, sisters, Jane Gage Howell (Walterboro), Harriet Foreman Stringfellow (Chester, SC), Jane Fishburne Hipp (Greenville, SC), Mrs. E.H. McAngus (Greenville, SC) and brothers,George Gage Howell (Walterboro,SC), Madison Peyton Howell (Walterboro, SC) and Lucius Gaston Fishburne (Walterboro, SC). She was the daughter of Madison Peyton Howell and Martha Williams Gage Howell of Walterboro, SC and was reared in the home of her aunt and uncle, Mary Patterson Gage Fishburne and the Honorable Edward Ladson Fishburne, Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. Due to her mother's premature death she grew up as part of an extended family with her father, her aunt Mary Patterson Gage Fishburne, her uncle, the Honorable Edward Ladson Fishburne, siblings and cousins. Martha flourished in this combined family. She spent her summers in her beloved Blowing Rock, North Carolina in the summer home built by her father on land given from her uncle, Dr. Lucius Gaston Gage of Montgomery, Alabama. It was there that she found peace, strength and renewal and it was there that she formed lifelong bonds with the gentle people, the welcoming churches and the devoted National Park Service employees who cared for the Moses Cone Memorial Park where she walked and played as a child. Martha was graduated from the Walterboro Public Schools. Following two years at Converse College in Spartanburg, Martha attended and was graduated from Winthrop College in 1940 with a Bachelor of Arts in Children's Literature. She completed her Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina in 1972. While there she was privileged to study art under Alice Davidson Sims and was mentored by Dr. Millie Coles in early childhood teaching techniques. Working as a teacher in Early Childhood education for over 25 years she enriched the lives of countless numbers of children in South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and the Congressional School in Washington DC. Her second grade students, Cody Fishburne, Walton McLeod and Sonny Zorn were favorite reminders of her early years as a teacher in Walterboro and Denmark. In September of 1942, Martha Gage Howell was married to St. Clair P. Guess, Jr. at her home in Walterboro. Mr. Guess, an engineering graduate of Clemson, enjoyed a long career in public service including County Agent for Edgefield, Aiken and Barnwell Counties, Mayor of Denmark, National Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Executive Director of the South Carolina Water Resources Commission. Equally involved, Martha was a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader, co-founder of the Denmark Garden Club, founding member of the Pierian Literary Club, member of the Charles Pinckney Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a Sunday School teacher and Altar Guild member in the Episcopal Church wherever she lived. Affectionately known as Mrs. Martha Gage, she will long be remembered for her kindness to all whose lives she touched. During World War II, Martha volunteered to civil service by serving the Army Air Corp stationed at Walterboro, SC, including the Tuskegee Airmen. She was always among the first to volunteer to help the less fortunate. She was an accomplished artist and poet with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and undying love of the arts. Martha was co- founder of the Coastal Concert Society in League City, Texas. The Concert Society was an organization committed to bringing live classical music, orchestral performances, and soloists to the people of League City and the surrounding small Texas towns south of Houston. She and her children have shared the joy of awarding the St. Clair P. Guess, Jr. Scholarship each year to a deserving student graduating from the Denmark Olar High School. These students are headed to higher education with the intent of returning to the region to serve in the public arena. Martha is survived by her three children, Patti Fishburne Guess Yeats of High Point, NC, the Honorable Sarah Heriot Guess Noel of Denmark, SC and St Clair P. Guess, III (Carole) of Columbia, S.C. Martha's grandchildren are Sarah Yeats Belcher (Josh) of Ft. Mill, SC, Margaret Yeats Alewine (Dave) of Columbia, SC, Gage Guess Ramos (Jorge) of Atlanta, Ga., and St Clair P. Guess, IV (Janie) of Greenville. She has two great grandchildren: Marissa Nicole Haq and Rebekah Nancy Belcher of Ft. Mill. Martha Gage Howell Guess was a force for good in every respect. She was inspirational to all who knew her through her extension of overt kindness, devout reverence, intellectual prowess, social luminance and artistic talent. She treated every person she met as a gift to be cherished. Special thanks go to Pathway Hospice, The Oaks Senior Solutions, and especially Mrs. Liela Steadman, whose kindness and care provided great comfort not only to Martha but to her family as well. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, December 5 at noon at the Denmark Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Cooner Funeral Home of Bamberg, SC. Memorials may be made to the FBN Productions Opera for Kids., 716 Old Forge Road, Chapin, SC 29036. Cooner Funeral Home, LLC, of Bamberg is in charge of service arrangements. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston