Martha Ann Segars

Tishomingo County lost one of its most treasured residents with the passing of Mrs. Martha Segars on January 19, 2022. Gracious in manner, charming in person, brilliant in mind, quick in wit, a wonderful personality was Martha Ann Thompson Segars. She was born in Red Bay, Alabama, on September 6, 1931, to Due and Ruby Nabers Thompson. Martha was a 1949 graduate of Red Bay High School and was one of only 2,144 women to enroll at the University of Alabama that year.

At the university, she stood out in her fashion design classes as a talented and creative seamstress. Her fashion design abilities caught the attention of the head of the department who strongly encouraged Martha to change her major from dietetics to fashion design but Martha remained steadfast in her career decision. In 1952, while still in college, Martha married her high school sweetheart, Kelly S. Segars. Shortly after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Institutional Management in 1953, Martha accepted an internship in dietetics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. But before the couple could relocate from Tuscaloosa to Nashville, Kelly was called to serve in the Korean War.

With Kelly in Korea, Martha moved to Nashville and lived in the intern's joint housing as she worked tirelessly toward her certification. When Kelly was transferred from Korea to Hawaii, Martha's boss insisted that she take time off from her internship to join her husband in Hawaii. After he was discharged from the army in 1955, the couple returned to Nashville so that Martha could finish her internship.

Times were tough for the young couple as Martha, intent on becoming a registered dietician, worked standing 12 hours a day, seven days per week while pregnant, and Kelly, intent on becoming a physician, worked full-time as a pharmacist in two drug stores and attended classes at two colleges to prepare for medical school. At night, they slept on a flattened cardboard box that served as their bed because they could not afford furniture or a mattress. Their first son, Scott, was born in the charity ward at Vanderbilt Hospital in December of 1955.

Before Martha completed her internship, Kelly was accepted into the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He moved to Jackson, Mississippi, to begin his studies while she remained in Nashville to complete her internship. On her own, working long hours with no child care readily available and affordable, Martha made the difficult decision to let her mother care for her young son until she completed her internship. Scott stayed with his grandparents in Red Bay until the family could be reunited in Jackson. On the rare occasion, when Martha was allowed a day off, she would ride a bus from Nashville to Red Bay to spend time with him.

When Martha completed her internship in Nashville, she was a full-fledged Registered Dietitian and was now the family's sole breadwinner. She and Scott joined Kelly in Jackson where she worked as a therapeutic dietitian with the Veterans Administration Hospital. Three years later, their second son, Mark was born. In 1960 the family of 4 moved for their last time after Dr. Kelly completed his internship work in Norfolk, Virginia. The move to Iuka, Mississippi, was an adventuresome one. They arrived with their two young sons, a pair of Dobermans, and a fish tank full of black guppies. Their daughter, Leigh, missed that adventure because she was not born until 18 months later. After 11 years of schooling and 3 hard sought degrees, Iuka would be the Segars' home base and sanctuary. Together, Dr. Kelly and Martha would dedicate their lives to the betterment of their community through their careers, their work with numerous civic organizations, and the establishment of many businesses, including First American National Bank and its 10 branch offices.

Shortly after arriving in Iuka, Mrs. Segars became the first dietitian ever hired at the Iuka Hospital and she continued to work there for the next 26 years as the Dietetic Department Director, Manager, and Therapeutic Dietitian.

Outside of her dietetic career, Mrs. Segars was also well-known for her cooking skills and love of entertaining. In addition to her delicious cuisine creations, she was also known for her sewing skills, making most of the clothes for her family as well their household drapes, curtains, and linens. In the early 1960s, when she had three small children at home, she worked part-time as a dietician but worked full-time managing their farm (which included rental property, field crops, and cattle) and their household, all the while keeping Dr. Segars impeccably dressed, she still found the time and energy to design and sew a complete ensemble and enter a Vogue Style Pattern sewing contest. Her creation, including a hat, won second place in the contest.

Martha's design skills did not stop in the sewing room. She was also a very talented interior designer. Over the years she remodeled countless homes and businesses and assisted in several architectural designs, including landscaping. Some of her most ambitious endeavors included the complete interior design of First American's main office in Iuka, as well as several of their branch offices.

Although born and reared in Red Bay, Alabama, Martha Segars' ties with Tishomingo County began generations before her birth when her parents' families settled in Old Tishomingo County in the 1700s. It is therefore no surprise that she spent so many years of her life promoting and growing Tishomingo County, being as it was intertwined with her past as well as her future.

Her contributions to her community are outstanding. She served on the boards of over three dozen organizations including Yellow Creek Port Authority, Yellow Creek Watershed Authority, Tishomingo County Economic Development, Tishomingo County Tourism Council, Tennessee Tombigbee Tourism Association, NASA Steering Committee, Tri-State NASA Celebration, Tri-County Incubator Industry Board, Tishomingo County Vo-Tech Complex, Northeast Mississippi Rural Development Association, Northeast Mississippi Community College Hotel & Restaurant Advisory Board, and the CREATE Foundation. She also served as President of the Iuka Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Arts and Historical Committee.

She was devoted to her tourism work and her passion for it shown through in differences made by her. She was the driving force behind "Trash & Treasures along the Tenn-Tom," a 234-mile yard sale beginning at the Mississippi-Tennessee state line, ending in Demopolis, Alabama, and covering 20 communities along the path of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. This event began in 2007 and continues today. While serving as the chair for the Tishomingo County Tourism Council she created the tourism slogan "Tishomingo County, The Best Kept Secret in the South." She also developed and was a tour guide for the Eagle Watch Cruises and the Fall Foliage Cruises on Pickwick Lake, as well as the driving route of the Fall Colors Tours. This led to one of the largest percentage increases of visitors in any county of the state at the time.

Her willingness to serve her community and state did not go unnoticed. Governor Cliff Finch chose her to serve as an Aide de Camp and a Colonel on his staff, and she was appointed to the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority by Governor Haley Barbour.

In recognition of her contributions to the Tenn-Tom Waterway Development Authority, she was twice appointed to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels by Kentucky Governors Steven L. Beshear and Ernie Fletcher. Kentucky Colonels is an organization of men and women first organized in 1813 as Ambassadors of Good Will. The mission of Kentucky Colonels is to promote opportunity, heritage, history, and leadership in their communities and states. The name "Kentucky Colonel" is synonymous with strength of character, leadership, and dedication to the welfare of others. A Kentucky Colonel places others above themselves. Other Kentucky Colonels include Clark Gable, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Senator John Glenn, and President Ronald Reagan.

Her executive ability, sound judgment, strong convictions, and generous expenditure of her time and of her herself were qualities that made her an invaluable member of every organization to which she gave of herself and donated her time. She was admired and honored for her unswerving loyalty and work well done in whatever post she held.

In acknowledgment of her selfless service and valued contributions, she was chosen the 2007 Statewide Volunteer of the Year out of the more than 70 people who were nominated. She was named Volunteer of the Year by the Tishomingo County Development Foundation in 1994 and again in 2007. In 2008, she received the Excellence in Tourism Award for Community Volunteer of the Year by the Mississippi Tourism Association and was a Mississippi delegate to the 2008 National Republican convention where she wrote a daily column about the convention that was published in the Tupelo Daily Journal. The following year, she was selected as one of Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women. On April 25 of 2019, the state flag was flown over the Mississippi State Capitol to honor her and Dr. Segars' contributions to Iuka, Tishomingo County, and the State of Mississippi.

Additionally, for many years, Martha served as a Scout leader for both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and was active in the Jaycettes, the Pilot Club, and the Friends of the Library organizations. She was the co-owner and manager of both Hillwinds Farm and Casey Springs Land Management, served on the boards of Segars Communications, LeMark Custom Homes, Treasure Shores, Southgate Estates, Action Communications, and Segars Clinic. She also served as a Sunday school teacher, a Youth Council Director, and a Sunday School Secretary for the Iuka United Methodist Church. She and Dr. Segars established the Segars Family Endowment Fund with their church to help fund college tuition for some of the church's young members.

Martha also belonged to several banking and dietetic organizations including the American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America.

Upon retiring from Iuka Hospital in 1988, she began her second career as Director of Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations for First American National Bank until her second retirement in 1996. She continued to serve on the Board of Directors until her death.

She suffered numerous health problems along the way, but always quietly and with grace, as she was determined not to let them hold her back or define her. It did not matter the extent of her pain or how cluttered her calendar, if a casserole was needed for a church function, a cake needed for a wedding, or reception needed to be held, Martha was usually one of the first to volunteer. She was selfless, always putting the needs of others above her own, and was there to pitch in or, more often, spearhead an event when needed.

When not giving freely of herself and her time to others, she indulged in her favorite past times of cooking, sewing, entertaining, traveling, gardening, reading, and playing piano. She was instrumental in organizing the Classic Bankers with First American National Bank to help keep their customers engaged, involved, and entertained.

Her death has brought deep sorrow, not only to her family, friends, and members of her church, Iuka United Methodist, where she had been a faithful member for over 60 years, but also to hundreds of others associated with her in the numerous organizations in which she had been active over a long period of time. Her presence and influence here shall always be missed.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Kelly S. Segars, Sr.; her parents; her brothers, Douglas Thompson and wife Burnell, Fred Thompson and wife Vernell; and her nephews, Charles Thompson and Tommy Thompson. She is survived by her children, Dr. Scott Segars (Diane), Mark T. Segars (Lynn), and Leigh Ann Segars; her grandchildren, Tyler, Jackson (Carol), Thompson, Annie, and James; her nephews, James Neil Thompson and Jerry Thompson, and her nieces, Dolores Sparks, Susan Ledbetter, and Janet Kennedy, all of Red Bay, Alabama, and many great-nephews and great-nieces.

Cutshall Funeral Home of Iuka, MS, is entrusted with arrangements. Funeral services are scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Saturday, January 22, graveside at Oak Grove Cemetery, officiated by Rev. Harrell Moore. Honorary pallbearers include the Directors and Employees of First American National Bank, Former employees of the Iuka Hospital Dietetic Department, Mr. Gary Matthews, Mrs. Theresa Cutshall, Mrs. Mary Ann Grant and other members of the Tishomingo County Tourism Council, Mrs. Catherine Mitchell, Mrs. Sue Hall, Dr. Harry Thomas Cosby, Dr. James Perkins, Ms. Martha Lambert, Mr. William Dilworth, Don and Inga Legere, Russ and Norma Robinson, Bob and Sylvia Ferguson, Dr. Amit Gupta, Dr. Barry Bertolet, Mr. Tony Mobley, Mr. William Baldwin, Dr. Margie Glynn, Mrs. Kathy Baxter, Mr. Jim Nelson, Mr. Ricky Cornelison, Mr. Chris Cornelison, Mr. Tommy Dean, Mr. John White, Mr. Gary Orick, Mr. Harry Bowman, Mr. Billy McKissick, and Mr. Benny Shackleford. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Tishomingo County Development Foundation or the Iuka United Methodist Church. An online guest book may be accessed at www.cutshallfuneralhome.com.