Martin M. Middleton, son of Drue and Maggie Middleton, was a lifelong resident of Shelby County who married Shirley Faye Booth in July 1941, five months before the war started that December. After serving in the United States Air Force, he returned to Center and operated a successful grocery business serving area residents. He was instrumental in helping develop the poultry industry in Shelby County by assisting growers with marketing and transporting mature chickens to processors outside the region when no market existed locally. He later developed a state of the art feed mill, the first of its kind in Texas, to deliver bulk feed to growers. Middleton also served as Mayor of Center, was an outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, was a member of First Baptist Church, and was a dedicated husband and father of three children. Beyond his accomplishments, he was above all a philanthropist with a heart for helping others.