Ruth Ann Martin

Ruth Ann Martin (1943-2026) Known for her heartfelt love for others, for Jesus, and for the Word of God, Ruth Ann Martin died of cancer on May 24, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Ruth Ann was born in Williamston, Michigan on October 6, 1943 to Charles and Beth Dietz. She was a farm girl through and through, and grew up in a rural community together with her two brothers and her many Risch and Dietz cousins, strongly influenced by the preaching of Harold Reese at Williamston First Baptist Church. She graduated from Williamston High School and then Michigan State University in the 1960s, and spent several years teaching at schools in the Grand Rapids area and teaching English to Latin American immigrant children in Lansing. During this period she took a short-term mission trip to Colombia, an experience that would plant the seeds of her love for missions that would flourish for many years to come. Ruth Ann always wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother, and this dream was fulfilled when, at a church singles group in 1968, she met a young grad student from Pennsylvania named David Martin. The two were married on August 16, 1969, and despite the dire (and perhaps tongue-in-cheek) prophecy of a close friend (“A Baptist and a Mennonite? That’ll never work”), Dave and Ruth Ann spent more than 56 years as an exemplary husband and wife whose marriage was richly blessed by God and inspired the admiration of all who knew them. Their son Karl was born in East Lansing, Michigan in 1972, and two years later, their daughter Kristina entered the world in Columbus, Ohio. Ruth Ann’s passion for mothering overshadowed any thought of pursuing a professional career, and she spent the next couple decades as a devoted homemaker at her family’s residences in Hilliard, Ohio; Lake Orion, Michigan; and Powell, Ohio. Years later, her love for family spanned another generation when her grandchildren, Grace and Davy Hoblet, were born in the early 2000s. With her natural love for children, “Granny” became a devoted and trusted influence who provided many treasured memories. Having spent many years praying for and supporting Christian missionaries, Dave and Ruth Ann traveled to Argentina on a short-term mission trip in 1997. Missionary leader Dave Guiles was so deeply impressed by their commitment to the gospel, their humble unassuming service, and their seamless integration with the other missionaries, that he asked them if they would consider joining the team full-time. After much prayer and thought, the couple accepted, and spent the next ten years as part of a church-planting team in Buenos Aires. Ruth Ann was dearly loved both by the Argentines in the churches and neighborhoods where they lived and by her fellow missionaries. In both American and Argentine churches, Ruth Ann had a profound impact particularly on younger Christian women, whom she loved to disciple and mentor. She was an embodiment of Paul’s instruction to older women in Titus 2, that they be “reverent in their behavior . . . so that they may encourage the young women.” At every church she was involved in, one may find to this day dozens of women who will gladly testify to her influence in their lives, whether through her Scripture teaching in organized Bible studies, her wise and compassionate counsel, or her faithful prayers for one family after another. Ruth Ann had first been stricken with cancer in 1984, when she underwent surgery and a year of chemotherapy. Thirty-four years later, the cancer reappeared in her hip. As a two-time cancer survivor, she and her family were grieved when the disease emerged one last time in her liver. On each occasion, she faced her trials with steadfast courage, clinging to Christ and to the word of God. Her Bibles and her journals are filled with underlinings and dates for the passages that strengthened her heart in her most difficult days. On Monday, May 18, 2026, when a kind but grim-faced doctor appeared in her hospital room to tell her she had only days or weeks to live, she immediately turned to her family and reminded them of the Bible passage she had been clinging to in this final trial, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Ruth Ann was preceded in death by her father, Charles Dietz, and her mother, Beth Dietz. She is survived by her husband, David Martin; her brothers, Gene Dietz and Ron Dietz; her children, Karl Martin and Kristina Hoblet; her son-in-law, Ben Hoblet; and her grandchildren, Anna Grace Grover (married to Tyler Grover) and David Hoblet. The burial will be held privately. Calling hours will be 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Cornerstone Community Church and the funeral will be at 3:30 PM. Donations to Encompass World Partners, Grace Clinics of Ohio, or Cornerstone would be appreciated. Donations can be made through these following links: https://app.clovergive.com/App/Giving/ohiocornerstone https://encompassworldpartners.org/projects https://secure.qgiv.com/for/graceclinicsofohio

Ruth Ann Martin

October 6, 1943 - May 24, 2026