Martha Craddock

1950 - 2023

Martha Parkinson Craddock was born on September 6, 1950, in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the only child of Helen Chapman Parkinson and Dr. Thomas Franklin Parkinson. She lived on the Lawn at the University of Virginia for her first year of life, in the home of her great-uncle Gaston Moffatt, Chair of Romance Languages at the University, while her father completed a Doctorate in Physics.

She subsequently lived in Aiken, South Carolina, while her father served at the Savannah River Nuclear Project, and later in Gainesville, Florida, where he was chairman of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Florida. His time as a Fulbright Scholar also brought the family to Madrid, Spain during Martha's Junior year of High school, where she developed a lasting love of the Spanish language and culture.

Upon returning home, she was graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science with distinction. She was most proud of her time after college working at Shepherd Spinal Center at West Paces Ferry Hospital in Atlanta, where she helped injured patients regain fine motor control through occupational therapy, a token of her constant concern for others, particularly those in need.

Martha later moved to Charlottesville to serve at the University of Virginia Medical Center as an Occupational Therapist and receive a Masters of Education from UVA's School of Education, which she completed in 1981. It was during this time that she met her husband George.

In addition to devoting her life to motherhood, her family, and her numerous friends, she was a member of the Albemarle Garden Club, the Contemporary Club of Charlottesville, a Chair of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Society of Colonial Dames of America, and a passionate volunteer at the local non-profit All Blessings Flow.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Dr. George B. Craddock Jr.; her three children, George B. Craddock III (Christina), Jenny Grier Craddock (Kenneth), and Ashley Parkinson Craddock M.D.; and her four grandchildren, George Volland Craddock, Thomas Rudolph Craddock, William Stokes Lichtendahl, and Ella Reese Lichtendahl, who all loved their "Emmie" dearly.

She will be remembered by all as a most loyal friend, a companion to many beloved dogs, a talented oil painter, and a lover of good jokes and good times, always the last to arrive at a party (punctuality didn't suit her) and the last to leave. She was a unique blend of confident and humble, often awestruck by the beauty of the mountains and the wonders of the very young and the very old.

She passed on March 2, 2023, at 72 years old, after a courageous battle with cancer, which could not conquer her concern for others or her sense of humor, even at the very end. She wished to express her heartfelt love and thanks to her many friends and family members who supported her and lifted her up during her long struggle with her illness, especially her angel nurse and friend Polly Beckwith Hawkes.

Her committal service will be held at the University Cemetery and will be private. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 2023, at St. Paul's Ivy, 851 Owensville Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901.

Gifts can be made in her name to All Blessings Flow, a local faith-based nonprofit that provides medical equipment and supplies to adults and children in need throughout Charlottesville and surrounding areas, 2335 Seminole Lane, Suite 2000, Box 3, Charlottesville, VA 22901. Condolences may be expressed to the family at hillandwood.com.