MaryJeanne Mert Martens
February 19, 1953 - January 21, 2026
Dr. Mert Martens, beloved wife, mother, sister, friend, and teacher passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 in Oklahoma City, OK. A Funeral Ceremony will be held Friday, January 30, 2026, at 11:00 am, at the Carolyn Renfro Center, 445 Fairview Ave., Ponca City, OK. For those who wish to attend, burial will immediately at Resthaven Memorial Park. Those unable to attend the Funeral Ceremony, may attend virtually on the Trout Funeral Home website, www.troutfuneralhome.com and click on the live-stream or toolbar icon on the top right corner after 10:45 AM. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory, 505 W. Grand Ave, Ponca City, OK, 74601.
Mary Jeanne Mert Fischer was born in Waynoka, OK on February 19, 1953 to Aaron Fischer and Louise (Wall) Fischer. Mert married Chris Martens on July 25, 1975 in Waynoka, OK. They have one son, Jeffrey Aaron Martens.
Mert graduated from Waynoka High School in 1971. From the time Mert was in junior high school through high school, she wrote a column for her parents’ newspaper, The Woods County Enterprise called “Here and There” (HaT) which focused on school activities, friends, and her travels to Europe and Russia as The Enterprise’s foreign correspondent. When her mother sold the newspaper in 1984, Mert wrote the final HaT column.
Mert attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in May 1975. Mert was a proud member of the Aquarinas, a synchronized swim group at Northwestern. They put on an annual swim show that was always well attended. While at Northwestern, Mert met the love of her life, Chris Martens.
After moving to Ponca City, she continued her education by attending night classes and summer school at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and earned her master’s degree in 1984, her counseling certification in 1986, and eventually her doctorate in 1991. From then on, her students would lovingly call her Doc Martens.
Mert and Chris began their married life in Stillwater, OK where Chris and Mert both taught at Red Rock, OK. In December of 1975, the Martens moved to Ponca City where Chris took a job with Conoco, and Mert worked at the Marland Mansion and the Ponca City School Administration offices until she started teaching at Ponca City High School as a Social Studies teacher. During her time at Po-Hi, Mert also sponsored Student Council and Close Up, an organization which provides students experience with government and civic programs, and sponsored numerous student trips to Germany.
On June 19, 1980 Jeff was born. Mert always said that having Jeff was her greatest accomplishment and never wanted to do anything to their relationship “to screw that up.”
When Chris was transferred with Conoco to Denver, CO in 1993, Mert started teaching Social Studies at Heritage High School in the Littleton, CO Public Schools. During her 15-year tenure at Heritage, she served as Department Chair and chaired a committee to rewrite Littleton Public School’s Social Studies K-12 curriculum. Mert took a one-year sabbatical from teaching and joined Close Up in 2001. She travelled all across the country recruiting schools to send their students to Washington, DC to participate in their program. Mert retired from teaching in 2008, and she and Chris returned to Ponca City.
She made life-long friends from all across the country. There was never a time when traveling with Chris or others that she would not know someone at their destination. Many times, a friend would call her and ask if she knew anything or anyone somewhere they were traveling, and without exception, she would. Many of these friends came from Mert’s time working with many professional organizations. Mert was on the TIME Educational program Board as an advisory member from 1998-2002. She was the Vice President of Outreach for the Close Up Foundation for 2000-2001 and commuted to Washington, DC during this time. Mert served as Conference Coordinator for the National Social Studies Supervisors Association from 2002 until just last year. After her retirement, she served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Social Studies from 2008-2011.
Following the move back to Ponca City, Mert and Chris attended Temple Emanuel. Mert took on the responsibility of publishing the Temple bulletin for many years. She and Cindy Wigley organized every meeting and service. They also organized High Holy Days services every Fall and Passover services every Spring. This continued until the temple was deconsecrated in April 2025. She and Cindy continued to serve the temple by finding homes for the temple’s Torahs, memorial boards, and other temple furnishings. Trying to find a buyer for the temple continues, but Mert had to stop assisting due to her worsening illness.
Other Ponca City activities included membership in PEO, DAR, and 20th Century Club. Mert loved to travel, and with Chris went on cruises to Alaska and then through the Panama Canal. They traveled to Africa and stayed at a safari camp where they were able to go out daily to photograph numerous wild animals. They also visited South Africa and went to Cape Point and Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.
Even though she was a lifelong Sooner, Mert encouraged Jeff and Chris to become OSU baseball fans. They held season tickets beginning in 1985 until moving to Denver in 1993 but resumed holding season tickets in 2008 to the present. Mert was also instrumental in procuring College World Series baseball tickets in Omaha, NE. Her name was on the waiting list for 17 years before she got the tickets.
Throughout her entire life, Mert was a Sooner; she bled crimson and cream. She attended her first OU football game at the age of 2 and attended her last OU football game 70 years later. In 2016, she achieved a life-long desire to earn a degree from OU. She graduated alongside goddaughter Olivia. For the last few years, she became a donor to the OU Foundation and to the Sooner Club. In 2024, Mert and Chris went to Greece along with 100 other Sooners and sailed the Greek Islands. They had plans in place to again sail with the Sooners along the Amalfi coast of Italy this upcoming summer. She was the epitome of Boomer Sooner. She was Sooner born, Sooner bred, and when she died, she was Sooner dead.
Mert is survived by Chris, her husband of 50 years, her son Jeff Martens, daughter-in-law Lindsey, and grandsons Aaron (16) and Blake (12), all of Ankeny, Iowa. She is also survived by her brother Charles (Scoop) Fischer of Waynoka, and her best friend of longstanding, Dennis Moore of Edmond.
Other blessings were her godchildren, chosen by Mert or chosen by them: Hannah White Mayhew, Colorado Springs, CO; Olivia White Jolliffe, Playa Del Ray, CA; Matthew Parr, Stillwater, OK; Katie Parr, Ponca City, OK; Ryan Chapman, Norman, OK; Keely Chapman, Norman, OK; and Matt McClurg, Birmingham, AL. She is also survived by her great-goddaughter Raelee Mayhew, Colorado Springs, Co.
Please honor Mert by remembering that she was a bright light that shone to everyone she loved and cared for, so should you also be that same bright light to everyone you love and care for.
Mert’s wish was that memorial gifts should be sent in her memory to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, 3355 S. Purdue Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73179 in lieu of flowers or plants.
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