Martha Laverty

1931 - 2018

Martha Anne Laverty, 87, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 12, 2018 at Reunion Court of Kingwood under hospice care. She was born on November 5, 1931 in Perquimans County, NC to James Skinner Leigh and Ida Bagley Leigh. She was the 4 th oldest of 5 children. She graduated as Valedictorian in the class of 1950, Chowan High School in Tyner, NC, and received an associate RN degree (1953) in Baltimore, MD where she met Albert George Laverty (Bert) an engineering student at Johns Hopkins University. They married on November 27, 1954 in Baltimore, MD. They lived in Cranford, NJ, Short Hills, NJ, Westport, CT, and Houston, TX. Martha supported and helped relocate the family every time Bert's company, ExxonMobil, requested a move. Kingwood, TX became her home for the past 41 years.

She was a devoted wife, and the saying, "behind every successful man is a strong woman" holds steadfast to her. She was a homemaker, traveling place to place with Bert. During her golden years, much of their entertainment came from their involvement with the "Exxon Lunch Bunch" group of over 30 years, their commitments to Johns Hopkins University, The University of Delaware, and Rice University, and their membership in the Kingwood United Methodist Church. Martha was preceded in death by her husband in 2006. She is survived by her son, Albert George Laverty, Jr., her daughter, Lynn Laverty Elsenhans and her husband John of Houston, TX.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Martha during a memorial reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday, November 19, 2018 at Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway in Houston. The family will gather for a private interment service at a later date. In lieu of customary remembrances, a memorial contribution may be made to the Martha A. Laverty Scholarship at the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2608 or online (https://secure.jhu.edu/form/eng)