Mrs. Anita Martin Baliles

Anita Jane Martin Baliles passed away suddenly on March 1, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was predeceased by her parents, Moir Green Martin and Anna Bel Meade, and her husband of 44 years, Larry W. Baliles, who was Chief Deputy Sheriff in Patrick County, Virginia. Anita was born February 18, 1937 in Bassett, Virginia and graduated from Bassett High School. After attending business school, she was employed by Bassett Furniture Industries as a bookkeeper and administrator. She married Larry Baliles in June 1964 at Fairystone Baptist Church in Patrick County, Virginia, where they maintained their membership throughout their marriage. Anita loved to sing and she played piano for her church for about twenty years. Through her adult years Anita became a collector of Italian Capodimonte Porcelain flowers, fashion and fine jewelry and decorative angels. As a widow and after losing her sight, Anita moved to Charlottesville in fall of 2012 to be close to her brother-in-law (and former Governor of Virginia), Gerald L. Baliles, and her sister-inlaw, Robin Baliles. In February 2013 she became a resident of RoseWood Village Assisted Living Center where she resided until her death. She enjoyed the camaraderie of her dining companions at RoseWood, as well as listening to classical and Jazz music. She was an avid consumer of news programs on WVTF, National Public Radio, including the BBC World Service, and UVA sports broadcasts. She was stylish, quietly elegant, highly organized and respectful of all people.

Left to cherish her memory are her guardians, Gerald and Robin Baliles; her sister-inlaw, Donna Baliles. of Sebring, Florida; nieces and nephews in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia; and long-time friends, Myrtle Steagall, Pakksi Foley, Becky Foley, Jane Layman, and Nancy Redmond. Anita’s family wishes to thank: the staff of RoseWood Village for their many kindnesses and compassionate care for “Miss Anita;” Dr. Peter Netland, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at University of Virginia Health System, who she considered to be brilliant and who she admired immensely; and, Ms. Gentry Turner for her friendship, care and assistance of Anita in Stuart. Moody’s Funeral Home in Stuart, Virginia will be handling arrangements.
Funeral services and interment will be held Saturday, March 18, 2017 at 2 p.m. at Fairystone Baptist Church, 82 Fairystone Church Loop, Stuart, Virginia. Long-time family friend, Reverend Douglas Spurlock of Kernersville, North Carolina will officiate. A reception in the church social hall will be held immediately following interment. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Fairystone Baptist Church Cemetery Trust Fund.

Funeral Service