Martha Sue Vineyard

August 18, 1936 ~ June 29, 2021 (age 84)

Martha Sue Thompson Vineyard — Born in Norton, Kansas 8/18/1936, died in Montpelier, Idaho 6/29/2021, age 84.

Martha was born to Ralph Leroy and Frances (Mae) Shelton Thompson, the fourth of six children. The family lived in Kansas until she was 13, then moved to Idaho, settling in Weiser. She was a hard worker and always had an after school job. At one, Jerry’s Drive-In, she met the man who would be the love of her life, Noel Dean Vineyard, who was working for the railroad. They married 3 months to the day after their first date, on November 18th, 1953. She was a senior in high school, and soon Noel’s job required a move and she didn’t finish the year, but after they settled in Omaha years later she went back to night school and received her diploma at age 32, a mother of 5 at the time.

Martha and Noel were blessed with 7 children — Richard, Mary (Beth), Carol, John, Ralph (David), Vanessa, and James; 14 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren.

Martha worked for Bear Lake Memorial Hospital for many years, starting as a CNA and finally retiring after many years in the lab and x-ray departments. She also served 2 terms on the Montpelier City Council. She loved to travel around with Noel after they had retired, especially camping at Gros Ventre Lake near Jackson, Wyoming, and the nearby Cabin Creek area along the Snake River.

Music was a huge part of Martha’s life, and she had big collection of music throughout her life that she had playing most of the time. She played the piano beautifully, learning by ear at age 4.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Noel; children Richard (Tammy) Vineyard, Carol Sue Follette, John (Alma) Vineyard, David (MaryAnn) Vineyard, Vanessa Blackburn, and James Vineyard; and brother, Lonny Thompson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Frank and Ray, sisters Vanetta Stapleton and Barbara Abbott, niece Suzan Thompson, and her daughter Mary (Beth)Scherr.

There will be a Celebration of Life on July 17th at 135 N. 6th St. in Montpelier.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 pm. Family are welcome from morning until the music stops.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at Matthews Mortuary.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.