Our beloved mother, Martha Waldron, died peacefully at home on April 23, 2020.
Martha was born in Michigan but grew up in New Jersey. She enjoyed talking about the year her family spent in Oxford, where her father was pursuing a degree. She led her British schoolmates into (very mild) disobedience until the family was evacuated (by boat, from Ireland) when Britain became involved in World War II. She finished high school in New Jersey, where she was a long-distance swimmer and a state all-star in field hockey. She came to Massachusetts to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Zoology at Mount Holyoke College. She was introduced to a classmate’s cousin, Paul Waldron, and they married and settled in Amherst, where they raised five children. In the 1950s she participated in the Amherst Fair Housing movement, and in the 1960s was a regular participant in vigils on the Amherst Common advocating peace in Vietnam. She enjoyed gardening (except for her foe, the groundhog), enjoyed watching the birds (but regretting the squirrels), and enjoyed spending time in Colrain. She loved to sing, and sang solos at Mount Holyoke and at other concerts. She was an avid reader of literature, philosophy, and theology, but also mysteries. She especially enjoyed Reinhold Neibuhr, Carl Jung, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, Ellis Peters, and Dorothy L. Sayers. Later in life she became the manager of the LAOS bookstore in Amherst, a position she held into her 80s. A definite highlight of her later years was meeting with South African cleric and human rights activist Desmond Tutu when he visited Amherst. She loved to root for the Red Sox and against the Yankees, and was happy to hear from Jon that so far this season the Sox were undefeated and the Yankees hadn’t won a game.
Martha was predeceased by her husband, Paul, her parents, The Reverend Ralph and Ruth Johnson, her great-aunt, Anna Busso, and her brother, the Reverend Ralph Johnson, Jr. She is survived by her children, Jeff and wife Cherry Lemon, Jon and wife Ann Dorfman, Tim and wife Kiki, Karen and husband Rich Hilliard, and Robin; grandchildren Katy Waldron and husband Jim Elliot with their children Seamus and Fiona, Anna Waldron and husband Stephen Libby with their children Rose and Robin, Jessica and husband Antonio Waldron, Rich Hilliard, and Naniel Hilliard, Loren with his daughter Lyla, Joni and husband Dennis Chali with their children Noah and Abby; sister-in-law Anita Johnson and nephews Rob, William, Steven, Dan, and Ted Johnson; sister-in-law Arly Waldron; the Waldron cousins; Paul’s cousin Betty Mitman; friends too numerous to mention but especially the Reverend Chisato and Mary Kitagawa; Dick and Diana Brown, and the cardinal that came to the feeder faithfully at dusk.
Martha was a woman of faith, and we send special remembrances and thanks to the Reverend Tanya Wallace, rector, and to the community of All Saints Church in South Hadley where she sang for many years in the choir, and attended services until they were recently moved online.
We are grateful for Jenna and the other caregivers of the CHC, the staff at BayState Medical Center, who cared for her and then enabled us to bring her home, the hospice nurses, and her primary care doctor, Dr. Furcolo.
We celebrate Martha for a life well-lived; she was a woman of grace, intelligence, empathy, and charm, enormously proud of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and always looking forward to Christmas. We will remember and miss you always.
A memorial service will be held at a later date when public health concerns have eased and family and friends can safely gather to celebrate a remarkable life and hug each other.
Contributions in her name may be made to All Saints Church in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College, the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, or the World Wildlife Fund.