Martha Lindey

Martha Lindey, 87 VISTA -- Florence "Martha" Lindey died Saturday, October 8, 2011. Born March 28, 1924, in Slippery Rock, Penn., she was the first child of Edward F. and Florence Thompson Lindey. She grew up in Slippery Rock, attending Barley School, Slippery Rock High School, and Slippery Rock College (now Slippery Rock University). In 1943, at age 19, she was pulled from the college classroom and asked to begin teaching the following Monday, to replace a teacher who had resigned unexpectedly. From that time, she never stopped teaching until she retired 41 years later, in 1984. She taught for 23 years at North Hills High in Pittsburgh before moving to Vista, California, to teach first at Lincoln Junior High and then Vista High School. She tried at one time to calculate the number of students she'd taught in her life, and believed that in 40 years, the number was nearly 5,000. She completed her credential, in high school math and science, on the job. Subsequently, she completed Masters degrees in both elementary education and English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. Though encouraged by professors to obtain a doctorate, she declined, saying she was already doing what she loved: teaching English and journalism in the public schools. She traveled extensively throughout the continental U.S., and also to Alaska, Europe, and Australia. She was extremely active in the educational community, the community at large, and in her church. She participated in, volunteered for, and supported a wide variety of charitable organizations and outreach ministries. She participated in Hands Across American and Vistans ROC, protested on behalf of Ben Sasway, and traveled to Tijuana in 1990 to work on Habitat For Humanity's Tijuana Project, where she was honored to meet President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter. She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Lauretta Lindey of Grove City, Pennsylvania; her sister and brother-in-law, Barbara Lindey and Michael Shores of Carlsbad, California; four nieces, five nephews, many great- and great-great nieces and nephews, and the thousands of students and individuals whose lives she touched and inspired. A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 22, at 1 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of Vista, 490 S. Melrose Avenue, Vista. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory to the Music Department of the United Methodist Church of Vista are requested. Sign the Guest Book online obits.nctimes.com