Cordell Martin

Obituary For Cordell Martin

Cordell Elizabeth “Jackie” (Forskin) Martin was the eldest of seven children from the union of the late Soloman E. Forskin and Louise I. (Smart) Forskin. She was born on October 29, 1936, in Kingston, Jamaica, WI, and parted this life on February 21, 2025, at her home in Atlanta, GA, surrounded by family.

She was educated in Jamaica and entered the banking world early as a bank teller at Scotia Bank and quickly advanced to working as a head bank teller at the Regional office.

In 1968, she briefly moved to the United Kingdom. However, she only stayed for a few months, as she did not like the cold, damp weather. She took the final voyage of Queen Elizabeth I to New York. During her visit to New York, her childhood friend from the age of
seven, Lorna Whittier, helped her to start the immigration process to the United States. She eventually went back into banking, working for Chemical Bank.

Jackie met William “Bill”Martin in 1972 and married in 1974. From that union, a daughter, Nicole, was born. She brought a son to the marriage from a previous
relationship, Michael A Penso. Jackie, Bill, and Nicole made their home in Queens, New York, and in 1986, relocated to Littlestown, Pennsylvania, to a small fruit farm to pursue Bill’s dream of having a farm. They spent 20 years together on the farm and enjoyed gardening and growing Asian Pears.

In 2006, Jackie and Nicole relocated to Atlanta, GA, after her husband Bill passed away. Jackie was an avid reader and enjoyed crocheting, crossword puzzles, coloring on her iPad, and keeping track of how often she beat the computer playing video games. She also enjoyed spending quality time with her daughter and her granddog, Kirah.

She became the matriarch of the Forskin family at an early age and, over the years, helped sponsor several family members to become citizens of the United States. She enjoyed spending time with her family, reminiscing on special moments with them, and watching her great-nephews excel in basketball.

She leaves to cherish her memories her loving daughter Nicole H. Martin, her son Michael A. Penso (Patricia), her sister Lillian V. Dineley, her brother Ralph W. Forskin
(Margaret), her sisters-in-law, Eleanor Forskin, Gloria Forbes-Forskin, Mozelle Braithwaite (Jorge) and Alice Jones, and a host of nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Willam H. Martin Sr, brothers Lauron Forskin and Winston Forskin, and sisters Pauline Connett and Celia Cardoza.

A visitation will be beld on Friday, March 14, 2025 at the Carter's Funeral Home Chapel, 206 Virginia Avenue, Clarksville, VA 23927 from 2pm-6pm. A Graveside service will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11:00AM at the Cedar Grove Baptist Church #2; 212 Church Road, Clarksville, VA 23927.