The business grew, acquired a butane truck and gave way to a new operation that became today’s “Martin Gas” companies.

Learn more of Margaret Martin’s life on Page 4A.

In a tribute from Dawn Gratton, a board member at the Kilgore Boys & Girls Club Martin readily and repeatedly assisted, “Mrs. Granted, theirs was a social relationship but one marked by Martin’s regular generosity toward the Kilgore Boys & Girls Club in addition to her family’s ongoing support.

Each interaction, DeCeault said, was an inspiration.

“She was a lady of great intellect, wit, compassion and grace, and her smile was infectious if you saw Margaret smiling you just had to smile back.”

Martin was also a consistent attendee at local veterans’ ceremonies and a regular contributor to the Kilgore Chamber of Commerce’s Mt.

“She was a very much a part of the children’s happy faces,” chamber president Cindy Morris said, “and participated in our opening ceremony every year.”

A charter member of Kilgore Improvement in Beautification Association in 1967, in November Martin challenged local school groups as she often did to participate in KIBA’s ‘Make Kilgore Shine,’ making a donation to recognize the students’ hours of community service picking up trash on local roads.

“She was always a cheerleader for the city and came to the aid of any worthwhile project that came along,” Kilgore Mayor Ronnie Spradlin said, “helped quietly without needing her picture in the paper, was always upbeat and always had a smile on her face.

“I think we can learn that regardless of your age and where you are in life you can still make a contribution and your area.”

In 2012, Martin became the fifth recipient of the Gregg County Historical Museum’s Preservation Award, recognizing the local philanthropist’s contributions throughout East Texas.

Honored in a private reception in Longview, Martin echoed the organization’s passion.

“If we don’t remember the past, we can’t plan for the future,” she said that September, modestly waving off the recognition: “It’s certainly an honor I don’t deserve.”

In another effort to highlight historical preservation, Martin donated an antique ice box to the East Texas Oil Museum in 2011, a throwback to the days of Kilgore Ice Company.

“We knew ice was on the way out at the end of World War II, because people were beginning to get their own ice makers,” Martin joked in 2012.