Martina Maude Merzenich, 88, died peacefully at the Twin Oaks Specialty Care facility in Sweet Home on Jan. 6, 2009.
She was born Jan. 4, 1921 to Peter Frances and Gertrude Ione Smith of Lebanon. She attended Mount Angel Convent School in Portland and later taught primary school there until leaving the Benedictine Order and entering the U.S. Navy, where she served as a WAVE in World War II.
Following her discharge from military service,…