In tribute: Mother, son always ready to help

Both Martha Aylesworth and her son Brian Aylesworth passed away within a few weeks of each other in May.

Both were described as great people who will be missed dearly by their families.

Martha died on May 17th. Brian died on May 1st .

Martha and her husband, Bill Aylesworth, lived in Clovis for about 60 years.

Sarah Stevens, Martha's niece, said the couple moved around some early in their marriage and so when they moved to Clovis, Martha told Bill, "I hope you like this house because we're never moving and they didn't."

"One of my favorite memories of Martha was she would pick me up from school and make me a grilled cheese sandwich," Stevens said. "I just remember her taking care of me."

"Martha liked to talk and she loved people," Sarah said. "Martha liked to play Scrabble every night."

Bill Aylesworth said he and Martha were married for 65 years. He met her when he was 10 years old and she was his sister's best friend. They became friends, too.

After Bill got out of the Korean War, he met Martha again and they went out on three or four dates, he said. He remembered she was the "happiest person he ever met." After a few dates, "I knew then I didn't want to live without her."

"She loved her house," he said. "We had a chance to sell it and make some money but we didn't want to leave. It was our home and that's where we raised our children and she wouldn't take a million dollars for it."

Bill said he was president of National Little League in the 1960s and 1970s. Martha ran the concession stands during the games and communicated with the teams.

Normally the president would receive a trophy but he said the organization asked if it was okay to give it to Martha instead because she "worked so hard" helping.

Gena Sparks, Martha's daughter said Martha "always cared about her family. She was involved with her church, which had a real outstanding youth program. Martha went on the school bus with the youth to Christian Conventions in Oklahoma and California.

"Martha loved holidays and Christmas was special to her because the family was special to her," she said. "Her den is wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor covered with pictures of the family."

Martha had cancer and died from that, Stevens said.

Martha's Memorial Service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 19th at the Clovis Civic Center, Sparks said.

Brian Aylesworth, one of Martha's four children, passed away from complications after surgery for a brain tumor, Stevens said.

Brian lived in Russellville, Ark., for the past 25 years, she said. Brian was captain of the local fire department.

"Brian was fun to be around and liked to joke and give people a hard time," she said.

"I always remember his wife saying Brian, in an exasperated voice, because he'd say something outrageous," she said.

He and his wife, Debra lived across from a lake, she said. "He liked to go on moonlight rides with his wife."

"Another thing about Brian is he would help anyone in need - he would fix anything for anybody, she said. He rented out houses because he wanted to help people out.

"He could never pass up a good deal," she said. He would go to garage sales, swap meets and auctions. "He would always just say it was just too good a deal to pass up."

Bill Aylesworth, Brian's father said: "Brian was a real winner. He was his minister's best friend. They played racquetball together and visited each other all the time."

"He had a big pontoon boat and he would take the whole family out on that," he said.

Sparks, Brian's sister, said: "Bill was very competitive and always had to be a winner and loved sports. He had a close relationship with Jesus and brought his family up going to church."

He had 14 rental houses and "rented the houses to people who didn't have a lot of money," she added.

"We're all very sad because it was shocking and the doctor said (Brian) would make a full recovery," Stevens said. "We were in the mindset that he was going to be fine."