W. Thurmond Burnett                                                                                                        David T. Burnett

Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home

PO Box 389 – 801 Columbia Rd.

Edgefield, South Carolina 29824

Phone: 803-637-6536

Email: david@edgefieldmercantile.com

Martha June Aiken Wise (Ama) passed away peacefully at Doctor’s Hospital in Augusta, GA on Monday, August 30^th at the age of 74 after a brief but intense and courageous battle with cancer. Cherished wife, mother of 3, grandmother of 4, teacher of many, she will be remembered and missed. June/Ama grew up in Dutch Fork, SC and went to Furman University where she majored in English and minored in music and education. She married Henry Lane Wise in 1969. They shared over 52 beautiful years together and raised a loving family. She taught children of all ages in Edgefield/Johnston for many years. For the last era of her career, she taught young adult inmates in the Trenton Correctional Facility.  She impressed upon her inmate students that “it is not about where you came from but where you are going,” as she believed in everyone she knew and encouraged us all to be our best selves. She is survived by her husband Lane, son James (Angela), daughters Beth and Amanda (Jay), grandchildren Avery (Jenny), Lucas, Allie, Sam, and sister Patsy (Mike). She was preceded in passing by her parents Ruby and Charles Aiken and sisters Jerry (Dick) Stevens and Peggy (Wes) Barr.

June had a passion for music that started as a child singing with her family in church and at home. While attending Furman University she played the trumpet in the band and was a soloist and president of the prestigious Furman Singers. She also played the piano and continued to bless us all with her beautiful voice throughout her years, even charming Lane by singing for the bus passengers on the Soil Conservation Service tour where they met. Later she sang at the events of many friends and family, and she taught Musical Mondays at church for years. She had an uncanny ability to find happiness in daily activities; and her positive, fun-loving, selfless personality was contagious to everyone she met.  She loved taking photos, journaling, and scrapbooking about her many traveling adventures with family and friends. She always dove into any fun she could find, especially water-be it pool, beach, or lake, no matter how cold. Most of all, she loved to love and be with her family and deeply cherished time spent with her grandchildren.

 She will be laid to rest on Thursday, September 2, at 11 AM with a graveside service at Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Johnston, SC. 

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home. 

Please share a memory or photo at www.edgefieldmercantilefh.com.