Martha Pickrell

May 11, 1938 - Sept. 20, 2017

SOUTH BEND - Martha was born on May 11, 1938 in South Bend, one of five children of Kenneth Griggs Merrill and Helen Shapley Coleman Merrill.

She received her education from the South Bend schools and graduated from the former Saint Mary's Academy in 1956. She studied the Liberal Arts at Swarthmore College and some years later, in 1980, received a BA degree from Indiana University South Bend with a major in history.

On July 18, 1970, she married Robert J. (Bob) Pickrell of Elkhart. He died on October 27, 1995. Since 2000, Martha resided once again in South Bend.

Martha was an archivist, writer and editor. She worked for several organizations, most notably the Elkhart County Historical Society, the Northern Indiana Historical Society, the Schurz Library at IUSB and as a volunteer for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Elkhart (the church she belonged to since 1970) and the Elkhart County Symphony Association, of which Bob was business manager from 1971 to 1985. She also organized and annotated her parents' personal papers.

She wrote numerous histories, including biographies of Dr. Franklin Miles (founder of the Miles pharmaceutical company) and Emma Barrett Molloy, an early female journalist and temperance reformer raised in South Bend, both books published by Guild Press of Indiana, and a history of the Walter Nord family of Lorain County, Ohio, published by the Oberlin Heritage Center. Her articles on local history and other subjects appeared in the South Bend Tribune and the Elkhart Truth. She edited a succession of publications, most recently the monthly newsletter of the residential complex where she lived. She wrote many poems, almost all unpublished.

All her life, Martha loved music. She enjoyed listening, playing the piano and singing, and in 2005 she began, as a hobby, to write some music. With essential help from composer/typographer Donald Campfield, D.M.A, she self-published collections of pieces for pianists, and recorded compact discs of her playing, with the aid of Bartlett Recording, Inc and Dr. Campfield.

She depended on vigorous walks to keep her going, truly enjoyed her home, and liked to read, cook simple dishes, keep records and take photos. She believed she had been extremely fortunate in her life and was grateful for the beauty, opportunities, family and friends it brought her.

She is survived by her sister, Cynthia Merrill Tamny and brother-in-law, Michael Tamny, of Golden Colorado; her sisters-in-law, Marlene Deahl Merrill of Oberlin, Ohio and Helen Merrill of Novi, Michigan; sister-in-law, Martha Pickrell Nagel and brother-in-law, Herbert Nagel of Phoenix, Arizona; nine nieces and nephews, eleven great-nieces and nephews and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brothers, Kenneth Coleman Merrill and Daniel Davy Merrill. A sister, Janet Merrill, died at age seven before Martha was born.

Memorial contributions may be given to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Elkhart, PO Box 584, Elkhart IN 46514; the Elkhart Symphony Association, PO Box 144, Elkhart IN 46515; and to the Elkhart County Historical Society, PO Box 434, Bristol IN 46507.

A Memorial Service for Martha will be held at UUFE, 1732 Garden Street, Elkhart, IN 46514, at 11:00 am on Wednesday, September 27th. All are welcome.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by South Bend Tribune on Sep. 24, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for Martha Pickrell

3 Entries

Pamela Wycliff

September 27, 2017

As was mentioned today at her memorial service, Martha was a singular person. Martha was always a pretty private woman but always had a kind word for everyone. I admired her ability to say what was on her mind, if she wanted company she would say and if she didn't she also would say so. Further, and I told her several times, how very brave and courageous she was that she was living with her disease in the way she wanted to, choosing not to pursue extreme measures of treatment. Martha, we will miss you!

Debra Inglefield

September 26, 2017

Martha was a dear, sweet lady and will be sorely missed. He compositions reflected her soul perfectly -- a gentle beauty that reach straight to the heart. It was a privilege to know her.

Donald Campfield

September 24, 2017

I would like to extend my deepest condolence to all of Martha's family and friends on their recent loss. It was my privilege to know Martha for over a decade and to work with her on various musical projects during our weekly Wednesday afternoon get-togethers, and I hope it isn't too far off-point at this sad time for me to say how proud I am of her and of the two books of Piano music"Times and Places" and "Late Discoveries"which Martha composed during that time period. The positive feedback she received from the many people with whom she shared her Piano books/recordings was something that I know she found greatly gratifying, and I'm so glad to have played a (small) part in that. She performed many of her original pieces in my Piano studio's annual recitals over these same years, and they were always very well received. Our last musical project together, the orchestration of Martha's ten "Late Discoveries" pieces, in which she actively participated during the past year, was completed shortly before we lost her and I am so very grateful to know that she had the opportunity to hear the entire set of orchestrations gathered on CD as a finished collection. She was a close and treasured friend who shared my own love of music and I do, and will continue, to miss her sorely. Again, my deepest condolence goes to all of Martha's family and friends on their loss.

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