Homer resident Martha Bernice Visger, 92, passed away June 28, 2013, at South Peninsula Hospital Long Term Care in Homer. A memorial service will be held Aug. 18, 2013, at the Moles Family Funeral Home in Bellingham, Wash.

Martha was born April 3, 1921, in Anchorage to a pioneer Alaskan family. Her father was Evan Jones, the father of Alaska coal mining. A mining engineer, Jones established mines throughout Southcentral Alaska, including Homer, where he founded the Homer Coal Corporation in the 1940s. He died in Homer in 1950.

His daughter, Martha, grew up in Anchorage and at her father’s mines, graduating from Anchorage High School in 1938, then from the University of Washington and Swedish Hospital School of Nursing as an R.N. in 1942.

She married Frank Visger in 1944 and raised four children with him in the Pacific Northwest. They returned to Anchorage to live in 1977, later retiring to Bellingham, Wash. Frank passed away in 2006.

Martha moved to Homer to be near her daughter in 2012. A gracious woman with a quick wit and ready smile, she was a devoted mother and wife, and an excellent nurse. She loved camping, hiking, singing and a good game of cards.

She is survived by her daughter, Margaret “Meg” Visger of Homer, and her sons, Frank Visger of Gillette, Wyo., and Jeffrey Visger of Springfield, Ore.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Frank, and a daughter, Sally.

Arrangements were by Peninsula Memorial Chapel.