Martha Ann Daniel

Martha Ann Montgomery Daniel passed away on April 28, 2026 in Wake Forest, North Carolina, due to natural causes. She was 84. Mrs. Daniel was born May 21, 1941, in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up in north Birmingham in the ACIPCO area. She graduated with honors from Phillips High School in downtown Birmingham and went on to attend the University of Alabama and Jacksonville State University, where she received a Batchelor’s degree in political science. Mrs. Daniel lived for a time in Tuscaloosa and Anniston, Alabama, and was for many years a mortgage underwriter in Dallas, Texas. “She had a tiger-like devotion at the core of her being for those she loved,” says Mrs. Daniel’s son, Tony Daniel. “This included her parents, her sister, and her beloved grandmother, Electa Cooley, who had a big hand in raising her. And she found the best schools for my brother and me. She delivered us to innumerable music lessons, sports practices, youth group meetings, and Scout trips. She was my cheerleader for decades as an adult, and loved her daughter-in-law and grandchildren with total dedication.” Mrs. Daniel met her future husband at a Civil Air Patrol mixer in Montgomery, Alabama. After marrying, they lived briefly in Tampa, Florida, then moved to Tuscaloosa to attend college. Mrs. Daniel worked as a secretary in the athletic department there under Paul “Bear” Bryant and during the era of Joe Namath, both of whom she was acquainted with. After Tuscaloosa, she and her family moved to Anniston for a decade, where she sold real estate and finished her college degree at Jacksonville State. She and her family then moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1982, where her husband, Jerry, was a mapmaker for Hunt Oil Company and Mrs. Daniel worked in housing finance. “My strongest childhood memory is of the numerous camping vacations we took during the 1970s around the American West, particularly the Southwest, for which she had a special love,” her son Tony Daniel continued. “During all of those, there was my mother, cooking us meals on the Coleman stove, showing us natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, which she adored, the Painted Desert, which was her favorite vista of all time, and the market square in Santa Fe, as well as so many museums and exhibitions, rivers and caverns, and local events beyond measure. It was a magic childhood, and she made it so for my brother and me. Motherhood was her great calling, and she did it to perfection.” Mrs. Daniel was the widow of Jerry Anthony Daniel, Sr., originally of Anniston, Alabama, and has two sons, Jerry Anthony Daniel, Jr. (Tony), and David Martin Daniel. She is also survived by grandchildren Coker Montgomery Daniel (Cokie) and Hans Hoffmann Daniel. Mrs. Daniel will be laid to rest in the Mount Olive Cemetery near Gardendale, Alabama. A comprehensive account of Martha Daniel’s life can be found in the book Taylor Montgomery’s Walking Stick. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 11am at Mt. Olive Cemetery.

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Martha Ann Daniel

May 21, 1941 - April 28, 2026