Dr. Cora Ann Martin, 97, Professor Emerita of gerontology, died Jan. 2. She joined North Texas in 1967 as assistant director of the Center for Studies in Aging and served as the director from 1973 until her retirement in 1992.

She earned a diploma in nursing from Baylor University School of Nursing, a B.S. in nursing from Texas Woman’s University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. She did postdoctoral work through a summer Fulbright grant in Singapore, and summer seminars through the University of Southern California.

She worked as a cadet nurse at Baylor Hospital in Dallas and as a school nurse for several years in Texas and Alaska before beginning her career in higher education. At UNT, she organized study tours to 85 locations worldwide, created gerontology programs for medical students and served on initiatives that included the White House Conference on Aging. Her publications covered the social, psychological, and policy aspects of aging, and she was instrumental in the planning stages for the Good Samaritan Retirement Home in Denton, where she lived for many years.

At her retirement, the Cora A. Martin Endowed Scholarship Fund, for graduate students pursuing studies in applied gerontology, was established in her honor. She continued to enjoy traveling and her new hobbies of birding and weaving.

A celebration of life service is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Highway in Tyler. Graveside services will follow at 1:30 p.m. in Athens Cemetery on Mack Street in Athens.