Martha Billups

Martha Viola Billups was born on April 9, 1949 in Woodland, Washington. She was the beloved, only daughter of Thomas Ulrich and Isophene Delilah and sister to William Robert, Ira Lee, Donald Wayne and Thomas Eugene. Raised with four older brothers, she wasn’t the stereotypical baby girl of the family. The rugged role models provided a balance of strength and toughness to her tender sweetness.

Martha lived a life of service. She had a successful, trailblazing career she retired from with the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest, even meeting the President of the United States during her tenure.

Her friends and community members called her Marty and she earned the moniker Sassy due to her vibrant, charismatic and spirited personality. She had many adored companion dogs throughout her life, one she even named Sassy.

Martha will be remembered for her lifelong, incredible talent and passion for gardening, crafting, needlework, sewing and quilting. She learned and shared these hobbies and interests with her beloved mother cultivating a beautiful floral garden as she grew up and collaborating on numerous crafting, needlework, sewing and quilting projects; passing these skills down through the generations. Being gifted one of her handmade treasures was always such a labor of love stitched into every fiber.

In her retirement years, she cared for her aging parents until they passed. She was proud to earn her conceal and carry permit. She was part of a community quilting group that met weekly. During the Covid pandemic they shifted their focus to sew and distribute masks. She had the most incredible green thumb and her succulent and strawberry gardens were something to be envied, thriving with the same generosity of care and attention she showed her family, friends and community.

Martha was an abundant, effervescent blessing whose Earthly presence made this world a better place. To know her was to love her. After a life well lived, she gained her angel wings in Battle Ground, Washington and was received into Heaven on December 26, 2025 by her dad, mom, three brothers and many furry companions.