Missionary Martha Myers — murdered in Yemen Dec. 30, 2002 — was always active in Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), so Barbara Joiner thought it was only fitting that Alabama WMU submit the proposal for her induction into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.
And it was only fitting, Joiner thought, for her to invite about 30 of Myers’ missionary colleagues to the induction March 1 on the campus of Judson College in Marion.
Joiner, author of "The Story of Martha Myers," published by WMU, gained most of the information for the biography from the Myers family and former missionaries, many of whom were present for the induction service.
Myers, an International Mission Board (IMB) missionary, was murdered by a member of an al-Qaida cell in the hospital where she had served as an obstetrician and gynecologist since 1978. Her home church was Dalraida Baptist, Montgomery, in Montgomery Baptist Association.
The morning of the induction, laughter and fond memories came alongside occasional tears as those present recalled stories about their work with Myers in Yemen.
Dr. Jim Young, a retired missionary to Yemen who with wife June established the hospital there in 1966, recalled meeting Myers in the mid-1970s. She was serving through the Foreign Mission Board (now the IMB), working with the Youngs for two months between her junior and senior years of medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After graduation, she returned to Yemen as a career missionary.
Young commented — as many others in attendance did — about Myers’ devotion to her work.
"She never slept in her bed," he said. "She just worked all the time. She slept in the operating room, on her couch or anywhere. Frequently she had other people living with her and sleeping in her bed."
Elizabeth Purtle Baker, daughter of former missionaries Ron and Susan Purtle, remembers finding special gifts from Myers. The Purtles returned to the United States when Baker was 10, and she remembers waking up on one of their last days in Yemen to find a heart-shaped rock under her pillow. It was a going-away gift from Myers with a note saying, "Never forget your home in Yemen."
Baker said Myers frequently arranged for the missionary children to have camel rides, something she remembers as a special treat from "Aunt Martha."
Several missionaries remarked on Myers’ unique personality.
"She was definitely her own person," said former missionary Leslie Durham. "She was a great listener and really intuitive. She could think so far ahead of the rest of us that sometimes it wasn’t easy to plug into her ideas. Martha was an intellectual and a wonderful person."
According to retired missionary Pete Dunn, Myers had two passions. She loved the rural people of Yemen, often traveling by four-wheel-drive vehicle for hours and then climbing a mountain to provide medical treatment for people in a small village of perhaps 30–40 people. No village was too remote for her and she would frequently return to the villages to treat patients with chronic medical problems, he said.
Her other passion "was to see women carrying out the ministry they felt called to do, to be whoever they felt the Lord calling them to be," Dunn said.
Candace McIntosh, executive director of Alabama WMU, said she hopes "as young women walk through [the hall of fame] and see the memorial plaque commemorating the work of Martha Myers that they will feel the Holy Spirit’s call on their lives and make a similar commitment to missions."
Myers’ work in Yemen, her love for the people — especially the women — of Yemen and her commitment to God leave an important legacy for all women, according to Wanda Lee, executive director of national WMU.
"I think Martha Myers represents the commitment of so many women who understand that God has called them to use their gifts and abilities in some significant way," she said. "For her, it was through medicine and to the underserved people of the world. She was motivated by Christ, and that’s the legacy she leaves for each of us to discover our call and follow God."
Florence native Rear Adm. Fran McKee — was the first woman unrestricted line officer in the history of the U.S. Navy to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral — was also inducted to the hall of fame during the ceremony.
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