Martha A. Nathan "Marty" 1951-2021 M.D.

1951 - 2021

Martha "Marty" A. Nathan MD

1951-2021

NORTHAMPTON, MA — Martha 'Marty' Nathan MD, 70, passed away on Nov, 29 2021 at Baystate Hospital, from complications of heart disease and lung cancer. Marty was born in Westerville OH in 1951, daughter of Marion and Bill Arthur. Bill was a bus driver and union organizer, and a lifelong model to Marty. Marty attended Brown University and Duke Medical School. It was at Duke that Marty got involved in worker's rights and social justice issues, volunteering with her late husband Michael Nathan to screen textile workers for Brown Lung disease. On November 3rd, 1979, in Greensboro NC, Marty's husband Michael Nathan and four others were murdered at an anti-Klan demonstration, when it was attacked by a 9-car caravan of KKK and Nazis. None of the murderers were convicted, but the City of Greensboro were compelled to pay for the wrongful deaths of Michael and other victims. Throughout her life, Marty fought tirelessly for social and racial justice, immigrants' rights, universal health care, anti-war activities, and increasingly towards environmental justice which she felt was inextricably linked to all of these concerns.

In 1996, Marty and her husband Elliot Fratkin moved to Northampton where he had accepted a teaching position at Smith College. She took several positions as a family physician, working predominantly with Baystate Brightwood Clinic in Springfield. While at Baystate, Marty worked determinedly to provide medical care to poor communities including undocumented immigrants. Her fundraisers to benefit "La Cliniquita" became popular yearly events.

In 2009 Marty and her close friend Arky Markham founded the Markham-Nathan Fund for Social Justice (MNF) in honor of their two activist husbands George Markham and Michael Nathan. Since its creation, the MNF has given out $400,000 in small grants to activist groups in Western Mass. Marty was a co-founder of Climate Action Now (CAN) in Western Massachusetts and participated in marches and demonstrations against oil pipelines transporting fracked gas through Massachusetts, and most recently she opposed the creation of a biomass plant in Springfield. As a physician, Marty spoke often at Northampton and Springfield City Council and Statehouse meetings opposing air and water pollution. In addition to her public speaking, Marty has for several years written a monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on Climate Change issues, using her strong science background to make her arguments.

Marty is survived by her husband Elliot Fratkin; daughter Leah Nathan and her husband Gavin Ford and their children Misha and Eli Ford of San Diego, CA; daughter Masaye Fratkin of Brooklyn, NY; and son Mulugetta Fratkin and his wife Bailey Rehnberg of St Paul, MN. In her memory, the family encourages donations to any social justice organization, but in particular to the Markham Nathan Fund for Social Justice based in Northampton. (https://markhamnathanfund.org/donate).

Ahearn Funeral Home

(413)587-0044