Date Of Birth: July 8, 1935
Date Of Death: March 1, 2013
Marthanne Grafton McDowell, of Fishers, Indiana, passed away at 1:45 a.m. on March 1, 2013 surrounded by her loving daughters at the Hamilton Trace Care Center in Fishers.
She was born on the family farm in Popcorn, Indiana, on July 8, 1935, the 1st of 5 children of Roger and Mary Roberts Grafton. Marthanne graduated from Oolitic High School in 1952 and married William C. McDowell of Springville on December 31, 1954 at the Bedford Christian Church.
Marthanne was a very talented designer and decorator, having studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. She used her talents to enrich the lives of her children and siblings helping them decorate any new house they might have moved to. Marthanne also sewed beautifully, and her daughters grew up in charming, one-of-a-kind matching dresses and frocks. She also designed and sewed band uniforms for North Central High School in Indianapolis and all of the uniforms for the Montessori Country Day School in Houston. She worked at several design studios in Indianapolis and was a gifted floral designer as well. Marthanne’s love of gardening came from her grandmother and mother. She created beautiful gardens at her homes and was willing to help anyone who asked for her design assistance.
One of her great pleasures in life came from a trip to Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England to tour the great manor houses, castles and their expansive gardens. She would bring those inspired ideas back to enrich her own and other’s flower gardens. Mathanne’s other great sharing talent was searching out the mysteries of lost relatives using her computer for family genealogy. She spent thousands of hours finding missing kin, filling in the blanks with information from all of the great grandparents’ family histories of the Grafton, Roberts, Stephenson, Kindred and McDowell families. During her trip to Wales, she and a sister found a missing great, great, great grandfather Roberts buried in an ancient cemetery with waist high weeds. They had found the cemetery a week before and asked a local farmer to let his sheep loose in the cemetery to eat the grass so the sisters could find the buried markers. He did and they found a missing link.
Marthanne is survived by her husband, Bill and her 3 daughters: Kathy Johnson and husband, John and grandchildren Amy Parker and husband, Erik and great grandchildren, Francesca and Vivian; and Andrea Link and husband, Mike and great grandchildren, Seth, Graysen, Estella, and Levi; Sherri Kolarich and her husband, Bob and granddaughter, Teddi Jo; Debbie McDowell and husband, Kelsey Tipton, and granddaughter, Erin McDowell. Siblings include: Sue Humphrey and husband, Ron of Lafayette; Margaret Ellison of Houston, TX; Robert Grafton and wife, Carole of Hamilton, Oh; and Merrilou Luse and husband, Jon, of Scottsburg. Also surviving is cherished family matriarch, Martha Louise Crouch of Bedford. She was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Mary and Roger Grafton.
A memorial service to celebrate Marthanne’s life is planned for early April. Burial will be in Lowder Cemetery in Popcorn, Indiana. Arrangements: Indiana Funeral Care and Crematory
Margaret Ellison says
My sister Marthanne has been very ill for several years and yesterday her big heart stopped beating. She was a very talented designer (as most of my sis’s are) and helped all of us decorate any house we moved into. She could sew anything and all of the curtains in my house she created. When I was in college, I used to call her to say I had been invited to a big dance; in a few days, a beautiful ball gown would arrive in the mail. She would look in Vogue magazine and copy some elegant, trendy design. I never wore the same gown to any dance because of my sister, Marthanne. She was much loved and will be very much missed.
Sally Luse James says
Many of my favorite memories growing up are tied to my Aunt Marthanne. Watching her and my Mom working on whatever project had their creative juices flowing. Listening to them laugh and tell stories. When I was in jr high it was cool to have a hoodie with your name on it. As Mom’s sometime do…mine kept telling me no, I could not have it. For Christmas that year there was a special box under the tree. It was from Marthanne to me. It was that hoodie with my name on it! She always dropped me a note when she heard of important events in my life. When she found out I had been diagnosed with Type 2 she filled my inbox with tons of research and recipes and words of encouragement. I will always remember her as a very special woman.
Joyce M Jeffries OHS Class of 1963 says
I barely remember Marthanne because she graduated when I was in second grade, but I do remember how beautiful she was, and I am so sorry for your loss. All the Graftons and McDowells contributed greatly to our Oolitic High School. I never heard one bad word said about or by anyone in either family. From the words written by her sister Margaret and Niece Sally, I wish I had known Marthanne better. I’m sure she will leave a huge hole in many hearts. I will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers. I created a Memorial page for Marthanne at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=106099403