Leslie Martin

Greenwich, Conn. - Leslie Martin, 71, a long time resident of Greenwich, Conn., passed away peacefully in Hospice Care at Academy Point, Mystic, surrounded by her family and friends following a courageous 40 year battle with cancer on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008.

Born Dec. 20. 1936, in New York, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Robert R. Martin and Veronica Fisher Martin. She grew up in Greenwich, graduated from the Greenwich Academy and Mount Holyoke College and earned her Masters Degree in Dance from NYU.

Leslie spent her life in the pursuit of the Arts. She studied dance under Martha Graham, Robert Cohan, Merce Cunningham and Mary Anthony, and taught dance as Director of Dance at Greenwich Academy as well as Geneseo State and Hofstra Universities in New York State, and in her own studios in New York City, Holyoke, Mass., and Essen, Germany. She was a long-term Board Member and Editor of the Newsletter of The American Dance Guild and traveled to China, Hong Kong, Japan and Hawaii with several of its productions of the American Dance festival. She was an accomplished performer, choreographer, newspaper reviewer and critic of dance performances, a published writer and an interior designer. In 1995, she retired to her cottage. Leslie's Lair, in the Silvermine District in Norwalk.

Leslie and her family were long-term members of Larchmont Yacht Club where Leslie sailed in Lightenings and Atlantics. She and her sisters presented the Lipton-Martin Trophy to the Club on behalf of their father, who won the Trophy when it was originally offered by Sir Thomas Lipton and the Trophy continues to be awarded annually to the LYC cruising class yacht having the best performance during the season. In addition to sailing, Leslie most enjoyed other spirited activities of swimming, skiing and driving responsive automobiles. Her classic 1964 Mercedes Benz 230SL roadster was purchased new and restored in the 90s, providing her with many happy hours of touring throughout New England.

She was predeceased by her sister, Mary Louise Martin Knapp, late of Portsmouth, N.H., and is survived by her sister, Vera Martin Crawford of Dorset, Vt.; six nieces and nephews, and her Maine coon cat, the redoubtable Beasley.

Interment will be private. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, at St. Paul's on the Green, 60 East Ave., Norwalk, Conn.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Mount Holyoke College Class of 1958, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075; or to Beacon Hospice-Mystic, 12 Roosevelt Ave., Mystic, CT 06355.