Delores Jean Martin, 1943-2026
Obituary published by R M Funeral Services
Delores J. Martin, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and devoted servant of God, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2026, in Cary, North Carolina, at the age of 82.
Born on August 19, 1943, Delores lived a life rooted in faith, perseverance, and purpose. A devoted member of the Bahá’í Faith, she embodied its principles of unity, compassion, and service to humanity. Her spiritual life was not simply a part of who she was, it was the foundation of her existence, guiding her words, her actions, and the love she extended to everyone she encountered.
Delores embraced the Bahá’í Faith in the late 1960s while a college student in Iowa. From that time forward, she sought to shape her life in accordance with its teachings, drawing guidance from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the messages of the Universal House of Justice. To her family, it was evident that her faith was not only professed, it was lived daily.
For more than four decades, Delores made her home in Springfield, Illinois, where she cultivated a life centered on faith, family, and community. She served for many years as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly and as an assistant to the Auxiliary Board member, offering wisdom, steadiness, and a deeply loving presence.
Following a community gathering in 2013, she helped guide a process of consultation that led to four lines of action focused on education, relationships with law enforcement, expungement efforts, and constructive conversations on race. Through these efforts, she supported programs that brought people together across lines of difference, fostered dialogue, and advanced unity and justice within her community.
Delores was, in every sense, a teacher. She continuously demonstrated what it means to live a life of purpose, dignity, and love. She believed deeply that people could come to know one another through true friendship, and she worked tirelessly to help make that vision a reality.
Her devotion to service extended into a distinguished professional life marked by excellence and leadership. Delores earned her Juris Doctorate from Drake University. She served as Director and Deputy Clerk of the Illinois Court of Claims, Director of the Springfield Community Federation, and Chief of the Illinois Attorney General’s Senior Citizens Division.
During her illustrious legal career, she was admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., an honor she shared alongside her daughter, an achievement she described as one of the highlights of her life.
Her many honors and recognitions, including leadership appointments within the State of Illinois, a Duke University certificate in nonprofit management, and numerous awards for community service, youth advocacy, and violence prevention, all reflect a lifetime of meaningful contributions.
Above all, Delores was deeply devoted to her family, whom she loved with a boundless and enduring heart. Through each generation, her love, values, and spiritual guidance will continue to live on.
She leaves behind a lasting legacy through her children: Stacey Hagens; TeAndra Miller (Curtis); and Louis Martin (Mikki); her grandchildren: Michael Washington (Ky); Anastasia Jones (Roy); Tenéa Albright (Connor); Jasmine Miller-Kleinhenz (Nabil); Bianca Hagens-Washington; Gabrielle Washington (Dexter Gilmore); Chloe Hagens-Washington; Alexa Hagens-Washington (Frank Lagmay); Asia Martin; and Amir Martin; and her great-grandchildren: Roy, Romell, Ryan, Royce, Royal, Rylee, Leah, Legend, Badi, Zayn, TeAnna, and James Curtis “JC.”
She is also survived by her aunts, Anola Byers and Bonnie Pearl Dedrick; her best friend, Marie Leddell; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Delores will be remembered not only for what she accomplished, but for who she was, a woman of faith, wisdom, resilience, and profound love. Her life was a reflection of service and devotion, and her legacy will live on in all who were blessed to know her.
https://www.fergusonfs.com/obituaries/Delores-Jean-Martin?obId=47849349
This is the invitation to Delores’s Celebration of Life in Springfield, Illinois:
This additional personal reflection by Mike Lang was posted on Facebook:
Saturday June 20, 2026 there will be a celebration of life for a dear friend, Delores J Martin, a life-long community organizer and social-justice champion.
Delores lived her life by the Baha’i Faith’s central tenant: mankind is one. She helped further the cause of racial unity in both her professional career as an esteemed attorney/urban planner, and as a community organizer.
She helped bring the movie Racial Taboo to Springfield, which in turn generated follow-up round-table conversations between Springfield Police officers and the citizens they serve—while expanding the Constructive Conversations on Race program she helped initiate here.
She was the major initiator of a program—still in place here—that helps people convicted of minor crimes to have those crimes expunged from their records, thereby opening up better employment and housing opportunities.
Similarly, she was part of Baha’i-led team that brought Mix It Up At Lunch to 186 schools (under which Black and white students sit together at lunch, rather than the typical self-segregation), and played a major role in hosting a dozen consecutive, annual Race Unity Rallies in the State Capitol Rotunda.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, when it comes to Delores’ accomplishments during her four decades in Springfield.
If you knew Delores and want to pay your respects, please join me for a celebration of life that begins at 6 pm Saturday, June 20 at Sacred Heart Convent of the Dominican Sisters, 1237 W. Monroe St.
Delores was a force for good whose legacy of looking out for the underserved will not be forgotten.
