Geraldine MacMartin

Geraldine Anne MacMartin, 89, passed away June 16, 2018, at Elm Crest Manor, New Salem, her home for the last six years. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 pm Thursday, June 21, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with Rev. Msgr. Gene Lindemann officiating. A vigil service will be held at 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 20, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. Geraldine was born May 24, 1929, to Lucy Mae (Fisher) and John Paul Wyciskala. She grew up in Bismarck and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1947. Gerry, as she was also known, continued with her education, earning a three-year degree as a Registered Nurse from St. Alexius in 1950. Geraldine married her great love, Leonard Dean "Mac" MacMartin, on June 4, 1951, in Bismarck. (Her second love was Humphrey Bogart, so she had high standards!) To this union, three children were born: John in 1952, Marilyn in 1953, and Bonnie in 1958. L.D. passed away in Bismarck in 2003 after 52 years of marriage. Early in their marriage, L.D. worked weekdays with Soo Line Railroad, so Geraldine continued working for St. Alexius on weekends. At the hospital she was assigned either to the newborns or as a special duty nurse sitting with patients who were dying. In turn, her family kidded her that she was either “bringing them in or taking them out.” As the children got older, she stopped working outside of the home but was certainly busy with all kinds of activities. She helped found and was a member of a neighborhood Homemakers group. And while L.D. was credited with helping start Boy Scout Troop 120 at The Church of St. Anne, Geraldine was certainly instrumental, too. She was Den Mother for son John's Cub Scout Troop. Always a trend setter, Geraldine was extremely proud of her red enamel ceiling in the kitchen of the home that she and L.D. built. She was also the partner and designer of the family's conversion of an old school bus into a camper that was used most every weekend at Lake Sakakawea. Once John and Marilyn left the nest Bonnie had Mom and Dad all to herself for camping trips. Bonnie cherished her time with Mom communing with nature. She and L.D. had two beloved grandchildren, Gretchen (Carrier) Vetter and Jeremiah Johnson. "Grandma Ger" cared for them while they were young and they spent many hours not only at her home, but on adventures at her side. Along with garage sales, Gerry loved thrift stores. Grandson Jeremiah would often visit them with her. Being a youngster and unable to pronounce his r's very well, he would often ask Grandma if they were going to the "theft store" that day, a name that stuck with the rest of the family. Throughout the summer, Geraldine could be found in her garden with her beautiful flowers. She was always on the hunt for a new variety of iris and tiger lilies were another favorite. Indoors, she fussed over her African violets. With her brother Paul living on the East Coast and her background as a nurse, Gerry easily stepped into the role of primary caregiver for first her mother, Lucy, before her passing, and then for her father, J.P. After her mother's death, Sunday dinners always involved two beef pot roasts. One for the day's dinner and one to send home with dad for the rest of the week. Gerry was active in the political scene as a volunteer at the Kennedy Center and on election days could be found as a poll worker in the city. For many years, she volunteered to read newspapers for the blind on state radio for the N.D. State Library. Naturally, some of Geraldine's involvement reflected her passion for good health. She was a longtime volunteer at City Nursing immunization clinics and a lifelong blood donor, giving many, many gallons of blood. At the age of 75, Gerry was able to check one more item off her bucket list: she got a tattoo. She had always admired them, especially the ones granddaughter Gretchen had, and really wanted one but at the time, rules dictated that a tattoo prevented a person from giving blood and she was NOT going to stop donating for that reason. Due to her breast cancer diagnosis, which she beat in 2003, she was no longer able to donate blood. That opened the door for Gretchen to help her Grandma Ger get that tattoo. To pay tribute to her years of giving blood she chose the United Blood Services logo of the heart-shaped blood droplet and her and Gretchen went on one more adventure together ... to the tattoo artist! For the next 14 years, Geraldine proudly showed her tattoo to anyone and everyone. Survivors include children, L. John MacMartin (Kimberlee Thompson), Minot, Marilyn (Rich) Carrier, Bismarck, and Bonnie Johnson, Puyallup, WA; grandchildren: Gretchen (Virgil) Vetter, Bismarck, and Jeremiah (Shawna) Johnson, Puyallup; great-grandchildren, Julianna and Lilyanna Johnson, Puyallup; brother, Paul (Barb) Wycsiskala, Manchester, NJ; several nieces and nephews and many great-nieces and great-nephews; and one sister-in-law, Joan Saabye, Bismarck. Geraldine was preceded in death by her husband; mother and father; two brothers-in-law, John Saabye and John Charlton; and sister-in-law, Phyllis Charlton. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful care and love that Gerry received from her “family” at Elm Crest Manor in New Salem over the course of her residence there. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to United Blood Services, 517 S. 7th Street, Bismarck, ND 58504 or the ND State Railroad Museum, 3102 37th Street NW, Mandan, ND 58554.