Martha Pearl Josey Larson, 25 Dec 1937 – 5 Dec 2002

On December 5, 2002, our immediate past President, Martha Josey Larsen of Macon, Georgia, died of cancer.  Despite a very pessimistic prognosis in 1997, Martha was undaunted.  With the help of her devoted ex-husband, William W. "Wash" Larsen, and their research on alternative treatments, she not only beat the cancer for five years, but continued to pursue a very active lifestyle.  Martha served as our President for two years during that borrowed time.  She took on the formidable task of taking our reunion home to Halifax County, North Carolina.  Although she began with no local base of support and very limited funds, the result was a wonderful Homecoming Reunion!

An accomplished real estate broker, a Certified Commercial Investment Member, and a marketing professional with extensive credentials in business and finance, Martha managed several successful businesses during her life.  Her brother, Harold Josey, said "Of all  Martha's careers, she was most proud of her association with NIKKEN Corporation and the line of wellness products they represented.  She left her very successful commercial real estate brokerage in 1994 to devote full time to NIKKEN and attained the grade of Platinum with more than 700 associates in her personal organization." 

Thanks to her leadership abilities and people skills, Martha consulted on site selection for the Carter Presidential Library, was a consultant for the West Virginia Roundtable, had managed the British Royal Family's timber holdings in the Bahama Islands, represented the State of Georgia at the B'nai Brith Awards Dinner in 1983, served as an official hostess for the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival 1983-1988, and hosted members of the British House of Lords and other international dignitaries.  Always politically active, she was completely at ease with executives, political leaders, and heads of state, and lobbied the Georgia Legislature and the U.S. Congress for mental health, drug education, and child abuse legislation, doing her own research and contributing to columns, as well as providing analysis to legislators.

Martha had vision.  I have often thought that if she had been an artist, she would have painted large canvasses in bold, sweeping strokes of vivid color.  She could stay focused on the big picture and not get lost in the details as well as anyone I ever knew.  An old adage that typified Martha says, "When you are up to your behind in alligators, you can't be worried about the mosquitoes around your head."  I watched that attitude in action as we prepared for the Homecoming Reunion in 1998-99.  There were so many obstacles and problems, that a lesser person would have given up.  Martha never did, and she never lost sight of the ultimate goals, not only for the Reunion but for the House of Jossey-Josey in general. 

At our Reunion in 2001, the membership of the House of Jossey-Josey gave Martha a bowl bearing the phrase "Preserving the Legacy, Pursuing the Vision", as a token of our appreciation for her hard work and recognition of the principles that guided her term.  It was Martha's belief that we must encourage and inspire in our young people a desire to learn about the family and to appreciate their Josey heritage.  At the 2001 Reunion Banquet, she individually introduced and recognized every young person in attendance.  She understood that our young people represent the future of the House of Jossey-Josey, and that they are the ones who will continue our Reunions long after those of us reading this Newsletter are just names on tombstones.

Martha was my cousin, but I am pleased to say that she was also my friend.  Like you, I sincerely appreciate all of her hard work on behalf of the House of Jossey-Josey family, and extend to her children and her brother our sincere condolences.

Diane Josey, Vice President