Martha Stackhouse Grafton

Martha Stackhouse Grafton July 17, 1908- February 8, 2005 HARRISONBURG, VA— Martha Stackhouse Grafton, formerly of Staunton, Virginia, died on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 at the Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, VA, where she had resided since 1991. A daughter of Dr. Wade and Mrs. Lizzie Steed Stackhouse, she was born on July 17, 1908 in Dillon, South Carolina. She earned a B.A. degree in history from Agnes Scott College and a M.A. from Northwestern University. In 1930, she began a long and distinguished career at Mary Baldwin College, initially as an assistant dean of students and instructor in history. Later she served as registrar and dean of the college, and was acting president during 1945, 1953 and 1969. She retired from the office of Dean of the College in 1970 and from the faculty in 1971. The college's library, which was dedicated in 1968, was named the Martha Stackhouse Grafton Library in her honor. She received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 1986 for her outstanding service to the college and was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Mary Baldwin in 1989. Mrs. Grafton was active in the Association of Virginia Colleges and the Southern Association of Colleges for Women, and served terms as president of both. She served from 1970-1978 on the Board of Visitors of the James Madison University, where the Grafton-Stovall Theater was named in her honor. Mrs. Grafton was a member of the Staunton School Board. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Staunton where she served as elder. She was also a member of the Board of The Presbyterian School of Christian Education, in Richmond. In 1992 she received the Higher Education Award from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Martha Grafton will be remembered for her wise counsel and open-mindedness by many whose lives she has touched and influenced, but most of all by her family to whom she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was married in 1932 to Dr. Thomas H. Grafton who died in February 1999. She is survived by two daughters Elizabeth Grafton Greer of Columbus, GA and Margo Grafton Rundles of Durham, NC, 5 grandchildren; Catherine Harwell Moore of Memphis, TN, Ann Harwell Armstrong of Selma, AL, Claire Elaine Hall of Macon, GA, John Grafton Hall of LaGrange, GA, and Martha Caroline Rundles of Durham, NC and 7 great-grandchildren. Her daughter Letty Grafton Jernigan died in 2002. Burial will be in the Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton on Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 2:00PM. A memorial service will be held at 3:00PM in the Meredith Chapel at Sunnyside Retirement Community. In Lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to the Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 24401 or to the Fellowship Fund, Sunnyside Retirement Community, 600 University Boulevard, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.