Martha Dickason

Martha was born as Eva Nell Seely in Wellington, Texas to Charles Raymond Seely and Melba Rae Vosburgh Seely.  She was the fourth of thirteen children born to the couple with an additional three half-siblings.  Her childhood was tough, but a good one.

When she was 11 years old, their family circumstances became dire and most of the ten children, including Mom, were unwillingly put up for adoption.  It was a very hard time for Eva and her siblings, but ultimately, she was adopted in 1965, by a wonderful couple, Arnold Frederick Legatski and Eldora Fay Black Legatski, and moved to Pasadena, Texas.  It was at that point that her name was changed to Martha Fay Legatski.  It was an extremely difficult transition for her, but she adapted and came to love Arnold and Eldora as her parents.  She did eventually re-establish contact with her birth family as well.

When she was around 17, Martha met Wendel Norman Dickason at a meeting of the Young Republicans Club.  She knew immediately that he was the one she would marry and they essentially eloped on July 23, 1971 when they were both 19.  They moved to Plattsburgh, New York, where Wendel was stationed during his service in the Air Force.

On December 3, 1972, they welcomed their only child, Deborah “Debbie” Fay Dickason.

Back in Texas, they both completed college at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville with Martha earning her degree in Elementary Education.  From first grade on, it was Martha’s goal to become a teacher and she succeeded.

Martha got her first job teaching first grade at Southside Elementary in Cleveland, Texas where they lived.  She taught there for five years.

In 1984, the family moved to the Cedar Hill area.  Martha taught kindergarten at Houston Elementary in Ennis, Texas for three years before taking a job at High Pointe Elementary in Cedar Hill teaching first and, briefly second, grade before retiring in 2005.

In 2008, her first and only grandchild, Edward Norman Dickason, was born and Martha became “Gramma”.

She and Wendel moved to Waxahachie, Texas in 2010.  Sadly, she lost Wendel in 2014 to cancer.  A few years later, in 2018, Martha was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, which she succumbed to on July 18, 2022.  She was 70 years old.

Mom loved to read, to travel, to collect children’s books, to study nature, to teach, to spot animals, and most of all, she loved her family.  Martha was a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend and teacher.