Patricia Huddleston Martin

Patricia Huddleston Martin, former Miss Alabama, and wife of Congressman James D. Martin, Sr., passed away on Friday, June 13, 2025, at her home in Gadsden, Alabama.

Her funeral service will be held at 12:30 PM on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Gadsden First United Methodist Church, her church of many years where she sang in the choir and spent many years in worship and service to her Lord. The family will accept friends from 11:30 AM until the time of the service at the church. She will be laid to rest at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, AL.

Pat Martin was born on September 20, 1933, and raised in Clanton, Alabama. In 1955 while a music major at the University of Alabama, she was crowned Miss Alabama and became an ambassador for the State. She was known for her beautiful singing voice and was a consummate pianist. The August 1955 edition of the Clanton Union Banner announced that, “A lovely girl from our midst has been chosen from a long list of the most talented and beautiful contestants in the state and crowned Miss Alabama.” She was referred to glowingly as “a lovely, brown-haired Capstone songbird.”

After completing her degree at the University of Alabama, Pat Martin received a number of awards and accolades in the field of musical entertainment and traveled to New York to start her career. While in New York City, she performed in various touring productions and earned a part in the Broadway play “Juno.”

A short time after becoming Miss Alabama, she met and married the love of her life, the late Congressman James D. Martin, to whom she was married for over six decades until his passing at the age of 99 in the year 2017. Congressman Martin himself said that his greatest success in life was winning her hand. Mrs. Martin was also a longtime active member of the Republican Women and active in her community.

“Miss Pat” was preceded in death by her parents, William Eugene and Alma Huddleston; her devoted husband, Congressman James D. Martin, Sr., and her oldest son, James D. Martin, Jr. She is survived by her children, Annette Graham Martin and Richard Martin; her grandchildren Lindsey Martin Lewis (Sam), Millicent Martin, James D. Martin, III, Rachel Martin, and Patricia Croy; great-grandchildren Lola and Dylan Lewis; and various nephews and nieces.