Sue Haynes Martel

Sue Haynes Martel, retired Cleveland State Community College psychology professor, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her Cleveland home surrounded by family at the age of 93 on Saturday, June 10, 2017.

Mrs. Martel was born in Clyde, North Carolina on February 25, 1924. She grew up with five brothers and a sister on a small farm in the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains. Her mother Alice Hawkins Haynes was a school teacher and her father Alden Thurman Haynes, a veteran of World War I, was a farmer and rural US mail carrier. The Great Depression began when Mrs. Martel was six years old, and it shaped her childhood memories of difficult years working on the family farm to produce crops to feed the family and helping to rear her five brothers. She was a star forward on her high school basketball team and graduated from high school with academic honors at sixteen. In the closing years of the Depression she was able to attend Western Carolina Teachers College by working in the college cafeteria. Those years shaped her philosophy of life. She believed that great achievement was possible through education, hard work, self-discipline, and setting and reaching high standards.

She married the late Burl Mease Rhodarmer in 1943 when he was serving in the US Army Air Corps. After World War II he remained in the US Air Force until his retirement. Mrs. Martel shared his career in public service as a teacher and later nursery school director at US Air Force schools. During their 23-year marriage they had three children, two daughters and a son, Ricki, Nancy, and Will, who were taught in a loving family to value education, personal achievement, and service to the public and others. Mrs. Martel completed her education at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro with an M.A. in psychology and continued coursework toward a PhD.

Mrs. Martel moved to Cleveland, Tennessee forty-five years ago to teach at Cleveland State Community College.  She began her career as an Instructor in Psychology and was promoted to Assistant Professor three years later.  In 1983 Mrs. Martel married George H. Martel of Cleveland, and they found great happiness together.  They were active parishioners and attended St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church together and jointly participated in many community activities.  Mrs. Martel admired her husband's career in social services aiding families and children in Bradley County and his work as a member of the Bradley County School Board.  Mrs. Martel happily shared his Democratic politics and his dedication to the Disabled Veterans of America.  In particular she relished his terrific sense of humor, their opportunity to travel, and their home together. George Martel’s daughter Margaret has been a loving daughter to Mrs. Martel and a skilled and thoughtful full-time caregiver during the last few years of her life. Margaret along with Mrs. Martel’s three children and their families were an integral part of George and Sue Martel's immediate family. In addition, Margaret’s daughter, Nicole was a conscientious and loving caregiver for Mrs. Martel; and she, her sister, Brittney, and brother, Jeremy and their children were part of the family circle.

Sue Martel was a dedicated assistant professor of psychology at Cleveland State Community College (CSCC) who gave one hundred percent of her considerable energies and expertise to her students and required much the same from them. She was well aware that a significant number of her students were the first in their families to attend college. She conveyed to them the value of education, discipline, and hard work for achieving their goals in life. She was often thanked by former students for the great part her thoughtful counsel and excellent teaching played in their careers and life pursuits. In keeping with her lifelong love of women’s basketball, Mrs. Martel was an avid supporter of the Cleveland State women’s basketball team and served as timekeeper during home games.  During her career on the CSCC faculty she was an active participant in campus academic affairs as Chairman of the Admissions Committee and a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Honors Program Committee, the Scholarship and Financial Aid Committee, and the Faculty Development and Evaluation Committee, to name a few.  She was also a moderator at Regional American Psychology Association meetings.

Mrs. Martel was devoted to her community and served it in a variety of ways.  In addition to volunteering at her church, she was a member of the Hiwassee Mental Health Center board and donated professional psychological services for its clients.  She was also a board member of the Loving Care Child Care Center and served as Chair of the Clinical Subcommittee for the Four-County Regional Health Committee.  She also volunteered for the United Way, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Heart Fund Drive. 

Mrs. Martel was a living example of determination, dedication, and personal achievement for members of her family and for everyone who knew her.  Her great love for her husband and family and her dedication to Cleveland State knew no bounds.

In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her brothers Robert, Alden Jr., Sammy, and Dean Haynes.

Survivors include her beloved husband of more than thirty years, George H. Martel; her three children, Ricki Rhodarmer Helfer of Washington, DC, Nancy Rhodarmer Allen of Murfreesboro, TN and William K. Rhodarmer of Nashville, TN; and Margaret Martel of Cleveland; as well as her sons-in-law,  Jerry L. Allen and Michael S. Helfer and daughter-in-law, Cherie Greear Rhodarmer; and by three grandchildren, Melinda M. Allen, Matthew B. Helfer and James Clint Townsend; and one great-grand child, Ashlyn Rose Townsend. She is also survived by her brother, William C. Haynes and her sister, Carolyn Haynes Woollard of North Carolina.

The funeral mass will be held at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 with Father Mike Nolan presiding.  Interment will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Her family will receive friends from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Monday at Fike-Randolph & Son Funeral Home. 

At the request of Mrs. Martel’s family memorial contributions may be made to the “Professor Sue Haynes Martel Scholarship Fund” at Cleveland State Community College.

We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Martel family guestbook at www.fikefh.com.