Martha Grace Clapp

CLAPP, Martha Grace (Lord) Died peacefully Thursday afternoon, December 11th, after a period of failing health. She was born a farm girl and raised in Delaware County, NY. She lived in Barbour Brook, Trout Creek, Cannonsville, Treadwell, Walton, and Delhi, NY as a girl. She graduated from Treadwell High School (with 11 others) in 1932. Immediately after graduation, at age sixteen, she moved to Boston to attend Simmons College; graduating in 1936. As a new college graduate, she worked on Cape Cod, in Hartford, CT and at Monsanto Chemical as a restaurant manager. She was the head of restaurant services for the Sharon School System and also taught nutrition and nursing at the Peabody Technical School in Norwood, MA. This split career encompassed twenty-four years. She married John Emerson Clapp of Franklin, MA in 1937. They had three children: Richard Lord Clapp of Orleans, David Emerson Clapp of Brewster, and Nancy Morrison of North Attleboro, all of whom were raised in Sharon in the 1950's and 60's. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Martha had lived in Brewster for the past thirty years. She was one of the managers of the Cape and Islands Thrift Shop in Orleans. This thrift shop turns its income over to the Cape and Islands Medical Services and this involvement kept her in touch with the community. Martha was also a member of the Nauset Garden Club, a volunteer at the Brewster Ladies Library, and a past supporter of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History and Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. As per her distinct wishes, there will be neither visiting hours, nor Services. The family will host a memorial function in the Spring. If anyone would like to make a memorial gift, she had two suggestions: the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet, MA (P. O. Box 236, So. Wellfleet, MA 02663) or The Jimmy Fund,10 Brookline Pl. West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445-7295. Incidentally, she was thrilled that Dustin Pedroia (she called him "Pedoria") was signed to a long-term contract; she always had a soft spot for middle infielders.