Martha Shoemaker

Martha Helen Shoemaker, born Martha Rickli on March 19, 1923, in Watson, Michigan, passed away on March 12, 2026. The second daughter of Jacob Rickli and Anna Siegfried Rickli, she graduated from Martin High School in 1941. There she met her future husband, Jesse Charles Shoemaker, known as Chuck. While he served in the Army, Martha supported herself by working in various cities as she waited for his return. Days after his discharge, they married on January 11, 1946, beginning a loving union they both cherished every day of their lives together.

The couple settled in Martin, where Chuck farmed with his brothers. Martha and Chuck raised three children, Tom, Jerry, and Mary. Devoted to her husband and family, Martha spent her days caring for them and supporting her children’s many activities, occasionally helping on the family farm. A longtime member of the Martin United Methodist Church, she taught Sunday School classes. She found great joy in cooking, knitting, and crocheting, excelling at each and generously sharing her handiwork and delicious meals with family and friends.

After retiring from farming, Martha and Chuck moved to Kalamazoo. They treasured their time together, visiting family and friends, and traveling throughout the United States and Europe. In retirement, they volunteered at The Discovery Shop operated by the American Cancer Society. Often seen strolling hand in hand, their love continued to deepen with the years. Even in her later days at Maple Lake Assisted Living, where she was affectionately known as Miss Martha, she remained a source of warmth, offering smiles and hugs to caregivers and fellow residents alike.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Chuck Shoemaker; her parents, Jacob and Anna Rickli; her son, Jerry Charles Shoemaker; and her siblings, Anne Wells, Dorothy Levett, Alice McCaffery, and Walter Rickli. She is survived by her son, Thomas Shoemaker and Tonda Boothby of Paw Paw, Michigan; her daughter, Mary Burpee and Tim Burpee of Snohomish, Washington; her daughter-in-law, Deborah Shoemaker of Mason, Michigan; her siblings, Jacob Rickli of Kalamazoo, James Rickli of Paw Paw, and Norma Cribbs of Rochester; her grandchildren, Nicholas and Jeffrey Burpee, Alison Shoemaker Palmer, Benjamin Shoemaker, Jesse Boothby Shoemaker, Lexis Boothby-Shoemaker Fath, and Dr. Wyatt Boothby-Shoemaker; thirteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.