Martha Louise (nee Cherry) Watts passed away peacefully in her Town of Grafton home surrounded by loved ones on Thursday, February 20 at the age of 98. Her life was filled with joy and love which she lavished on everyone. She was married for 59 years to George Watts (of George Watts and Son, Inc.) who pre-deceased her by 20 years. She is survived by her children, Cherry Watts (Steve Way), Jennifer Block (Frank), J.D. Watts (Julia), Mark Watts (Joan McDuffie), and Abigail Wright Grissom (Colin Grissom), niece Sharon Davis, 14 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren. A reception will be held for her at the Woman's Club of Wisconsin at 813 E. Kilbourn Ave, Milwaukee on April 25 at 2 o'clock with a memorial celebration to follow at 3 pm. In lieu of flowers consider donating to her two favorite charities: Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (ppwi.org) and the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary (mbsanctuary.org).

Martha (or Martie) was raised in Washington, D.C. with her younger sister Mimi. Her father, Al Cherry, worked first as an attorney for Congress and then as an attorney for the Federal Reserve. Al Cherry was one of the original authors of the banking law passed in the first days of FDR's presidency. Her mother (also Martha) was a brilliant woman from Salt Lake City whose heritage goes back to the first non-indigenous settlers of Utah. They were avid bridge players, and she learned the love of the game from them. Her teenage years were spent fully aware that every young man she knew would be going to war as soon as they graduated. She has fond memories of having her lunch at the Capital Mall when she worked in the State Department in her teens.

She remembered December 7, 1941, at Griffin Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Redskins were playing the Eagles. At 2 pm the announcements began, "Admiral W.H.P. Bland is asked to report to his office at once!" "The resident commissioner of the Philippines, is urged to report to his office immediately." They went on and on. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

George Watts came into her life in November 1943. She was returning from a weekend at West Point on the train when this "cute marine" started flirting with her and asked her for her phone number. They became engaged and he went overseas to the Pacific for a year. When he returned in April 1946, they married. She moved with him to Wisconsin; the state she calls home.

Martie Watts began her married life in Milwaukee before she was 21. When she turned 21, she immediately registered and looked forward to voting. She was surprised to find information about local candidates from the newspaper or pamphlets was scarce. As a result, she and another woman, Polly Frank, started what became the League of Women Voters for Ozaukee County. She was extremely active in this organization for many years.

Martie was always an avid reader and a strong believer in education. She didn't finish college (George Washington University), but she continued with her exploration of ideas and philosophy. One of her other interests included Great Books. She led a group of people who would read a book from the Great Books series and hold monthly discussions about those books. She was a young mother who loved the discussion of various perspectives. This has continued throughout her life. In a March 7, 1952, Milwaukee Journal she is quoted as saying, "The Prince by Machiavelli" changed her ideas about raising children. She explains, "she got an entirely new idea about fear. She had always believed a certain amount of fear necessary in making a child mind…After reading The Prince and leading the discussion which followed it, she decided that control through fear was not control at all…she decided that the best way to control was through love." Martie truly was all about love.

In keeping with her great love of learning, she soon joined a book club consisting of highly intelligent women who had a desire to know and learn. This book club is still meeting, although it has diminished in size. Asking difficult questions and inquiring about the underlying causes of events led her to pursue an interest in politics, policy making, and history.

Martie was a great supporter of education throughout her life. In the very early years of the Penfield Children's Center, when it was called the Via Marsi Montessori School, she was a supporter and board member. Her enthusiasm for this school brought it to the attention of many others in the community.

Martie always spoke her mind about issues of importance to her. On October 9, 1967, she is quoted in the Milwaukee Sentinel as a response to the question as to whether Ozaukee County Communities should adopt open housing ordinances. "I feel very strongly about social justice, that's all…A person who is able to afford a house anywhere, should have the right to buy it. And if we have to pass laws to give [them] this right, then that's what we should do."

Martie did not know that her new husband was a farmer and a beekeeper in his heart when they first married. He was a merchant (George Watts and Son, Inc.) too, but she was destined to live on a farm in the Town of Grafton and help with his many projects including a large garden, hives of bees, chickens, pigs, steers, and many other assorted animals. She was a good sport and grew to love all these projects. Always wanting to support her husband, Martie worked at Watts Tea Shop, welcoming and organizing, in the 1980's and 1990's. Later, Martie supported with other projects. George ran for governor of Wisconsin in 1986. Martie travelled with him to all the corners of the state, meeting all sorts of people and enjoying it immensely. Later she supported his run for mayor of Milwaukee in 2001. He could not have accomplished any of these things without her support.

Martie raised five children, Cherry, Jennifer, J.D., Mark, and Abigail. She supported their many activities and various farm animals which they raised. Goats, sheep, burro, Shetland pony, horse were all part of the menagerie, including dogs and cats. At a young age, all her children went to the library in Cedarburg to read, climbing the steep stairs that took them above the firehouse.

Martie was an ardent supporter of diversity in our communities. She enthusiastically supported the International Institute and all its work in supporting new immigrants, providing language translators, connecting with other cultures in the world. Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin have a plethora of people from other places around the world who make all of us stronger and more resilient.

She was an ardent supporter of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. She believed that Planned Parenthood provided essential healthcare to women.

She also passionately supported the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary on 24th and Center. MacCanon Brown served as an inspiration for her and as a result Martie donated all the furniture and dishes from the Watts Tea Shop (when it closed in 2016) to furnish the dining room at the Sanctuary. It is now completed and ready to serve the community.

She was a founding member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Cedarburg Wisconsin and attended services loyally for most of her life. She served in many capacities at the church, including First Reader.

Martie is a 60+ year member of Chapter BV of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Here her passionate support for women's education stood out. The P.E.O. Sisterhood supports women in their pursuit of education with six projects, including Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. She worked diligently to sponsor candidates and raise money for these projects.

This continuing interest in women's education and desire to understand the broader world led her to be an active supporter of the College Endowment Association, which provides lectures on a variety of subjects and scholarships to Wisconsin women.

For many years, Martie sat on the board of Ozaukee County Jail Literacy. This organization provides education for young people incarcerated in the Ozaukee County Jail so that they can graduate from high school or obtain a GED. Over the years, hundreds of former inmates have earned their diplomas and graduated with a degree which will help them obtain better jobs.

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Because of an ardent interest in the environment, Martie and George placed their 110 acres of fields and forest in the Washington and Ozaukee County Land Trust. She has striven to improve the habitat and dissipate invasive species in the years after George's death.

A dear friend once said of her, "Martha has always been the most inclusive, and open-minded person I know, never uttering a negative thought or word about anyone." George always called her his "secret weapon." Her kindness and sincere interest in others gave her a life filled with love. It was a life filled with her strong belief that Love Always Wins.

A celebration of life reception will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM at the Women's club of Wisconsin. A memorial service will take place at the WOMENS CLUB at 3:00 PM.