Dr. Grace Martin

Dr. Grace Burkett Martin, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Armstrong Atlantic State University and widow of Herbert Russell Martin Jr., died March 7, 2026 at home following a short illness. Born August 27, 1938, in Sumter, South Carolina, to Grace Briggs Burkett and John Hazel Burkett, she moved with her family to Savannah in the 1940s and graduated from Savannah High School in 1956.

Affectionately known as Tommie to family and longtime friends, she viewed the decades of her life as seasons and embraced each with purpose and grace. In the 1960s she devoted herself to her roles as wife, mother of three, homemaker, church worker, and volunteer. She was among the first female lay readers in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and was selected Mrs. Savannah, Mrs. Georgia, and a runner-up in the Mrs. America contest.

In the 1970s she earned her degree magna cum laude in psychology from Armstrong State College, where she founded Women of Worth (WOW), a support network for reentry women that dramatically increased the enrollment of students over twenty-five. She continued her studies at Florida State University, earning both a master’s and doctorate in psychology, and maintained a lifelong practice of presenting peer-reviewed papers at professional conferences. In 1980 she joined the Armstrong faculty, later serving as head of the psychology department and director of the general studies degree program. Her published dissertation on the cries of newborn infants received international attention through the Associated Press and United Press International, appearing in media across 28 countries. In the 1990s she advanced to head of the division of social and behavioral sciences and interim dean of the college of arts and sciences. She coauthored a UNESCO vocational guidance policy manual published in seven languages and contributed to a cross-national study of working women that informed the International Work Importance Study.

Tommie retired at the turn of the century and spent her later years enjoying the company of friends and family, particularly treasuring her companionship with Thomas E. Stanley Jr., who died in 2008. She was a licensed psychologist and active member of numerous professional societies, as well as the Savannah Yacht Club, The Chatham Club, and St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Her accomplishments were recognized in repeated listings in Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert Russell Martin Jr., in 1995 and her son, Herbert Russell Martin III, in 2022. She is survived by her daughters Carolyne DesChamps and Dr. Jackson Paul Morgan, Melinda Martin Bailey, her grandson Bryce Hosford Bailey and his wife Shivani.