TUSCALOOSA - Martha Ann Hollis Maxwell, age 84, of Tuscaloosa, died on January 4, 2017, at Hospice of West Alabama. Services will be held Friday, January 13, 2017, at 11 a.m., in the chapel of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa with Rev. Michael Bailey officiating. A reception will be held afterward in the great hall of the church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Harvey Fontaine and Johnnie Shamburger Hollis.
Survivors include her son, John Beatty Maxwell Jr. (Alice); sister, Sadie Alma Hollis Sohle (Vic); grandchildren, Anne Maxwell Liles (Conner), John Davis Maxwell (Eliza) and Hollis Stuart Maxwell (Mary); great-grandchildren, Jack, Maxwell and Caroline Liles and Beatty and Frances Maxwell; and her beloved dog Max.
Born in Coffeeville, Miss. Maxwell moved to Tuscaloosa at age 12 and lived for the rest of her life in Tuscaloosa. She graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School and the University of Alabama, and received a master's degree in education from the University.
She taught business classes at Holt High School and Tuscaloosa High, encouraging and inspiring her students for 35 years. One former student said, "Loved her. She meant so much to me guiding me through those high school years at THS." Others recalled Ms. Maxwell as "a true lady and a great friend of all students," "so sweet and loving to so many of us," "so sweet, encouraging, and always smiling," and "absolutely a wonderful Southern lady."
"She touched so many lives you can't count," said Steven Rumsey of Tuscaloosa.
Another former student, Birmingham restaurateur Becky Satterfield, remembered: "Ms. Maxwell was such a great mentor of mine and led me the right way. I will always love her for caring and being the best role model she or anybody could be."
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa or Hospice of West Alabama.
Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel Funeral Home is making arrangements.