Martha Palmer Leape

Martha Palmer Leape, 95, beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, passed away on April 30, 2025. She was born in Potsdam, NY, the third of four children born to James Beckley and Martha Kinne Palmer. She graduated from Cornell University in 1951 and went on to earn a master's degree at Stanford. She met her husband Lucian Leape at Cornell. They married in 1954 and just last year celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They settled in Boston when Lucian entered Harvard Medical School and had three children, James, Jonathan and Gerald.

Martha's professional career in counseling spanned three decades, including 21 years at the Harvard Office of Career Services and Off Campus Learning. In her last 12 years there, she became the first woman to lead a career center at any Ivy League university.

She also wrote The Harvard Guide to Careers, with Susan Vacca.

She accomplished all of this while also raising three boys and supporting her husband's medical career. Among the many things she taught her boys was how to manage in the kitchen, telling them "if you like to eat as much as you do, you need to learn how to cook."

She was active and enjoyed the outdoors, with a love for tennis, swimming, skiing, hiking and biking. She also enjoyed travel. After retiring from Harvard, she became the travel planner-in-chief, organizing trips with Lucian that took them to all corners of the globe.

Her happy place was in Newfane, Vermont, where she had spent summers as a teenager and continued to return for 75 years. Being there allowed her to be with her three loves, her family, outdoor activities, and the beauty of nature.

She liked nothing more than bringing family and friends together for meals. As a wife, mother and professional she was always there for the people who needed her. She will be missed by all those she left behind including her husband Lucian, and their children Jim, his wife Suki and their children Ben, his wife Angela, and Jonathan; Jonathan, his wife Elisabetta, their children Sebastian, Virginia and Stefan; and Gerry, his wife Catherine and their children Charlotte and Jude.