Martha Ann Folkard

Martha Ann Folkard
10/16/1942 - 12/18/2025

The embodiment of empathy and compassion, Martha Ann Folkard passed away peacefully on December 18th at the age of 83 after a courageous decade-long battle with cancer.

Martha was the middle child of seven, born in Somerville MA to Jeremiah and Ruth (Hassett) Folkard. Her father's family immigrated from Ireland and she loved spending time with her doting and playful Irish grandmother. She attended St. Clement's and graduated from Somerville High School in 1961.

Her father built a summer house on Ridge Road in Marshfield, across from the Marshfield Yacht Club. On a sweltering day every June, the entire family would pile into the '41 Oldsmobile along with luggage and multiple pets and head down for the summer. Her father would take the Greenbush train to Boston everyday while Martha and her siblings would explore the South River and Humarock Beach.

As a teenager, Martha worked at Lyndell's Bakery in Somerville with her best friend Elaine Blood, spending her wages on sweets. Martha and Elaine were instrumental in baking and decorating the Coin Cake for March of Dimes and presenting it to children afflicted with polio.

After high school, Martha worked for Dewick and Flander's Insurance Agency in Boston. Following the passing of her father, who was one of the first patients to undergo open-heart surgery, her mother decided to move permanently to Marshfield. Knowing her mother was the sole caregiver of four of her siblings, two of which were diagnosed with Friedrich's Ataxia, she decided to move to Marshfield too so she could help care for them. She was proud to later purchase a home near Green Harbor Beach.

Martha was business minded, yet incredibly social. She worked as a bookkeeper at Grossman's and waited tables at the Running Lights (now the Roadhouse), both in Marshfield. When Grossman's closed, she became the bookkeeper for the Cock 'n Kettle, later known as The Golden Rooster (now The River Club) in Scituate. During her almost 30 years at The Golden Rooster, she was their bookkeeper, waitress, function coordinator and often helped as a kitchen porter during office downtime. She regarded the owners, Louis (Louie) and Niki Zervas as dear friends and was so fond of their large Greek family. She loved working there, garnering many regular customers who would wait forever for her tables. She especially enjoyed when the Music Circus was open, as the restaurant was a hot spot for celebrity activity.

When she tossed off her waitressing shoes, she worked for Boston Financial Data Services in North Quincy balancing trades and determining next day stock pricing.

She lived for hosting gatherings where she'd forget she was the host and her friends and family would have to take over! Traveling to her sisters and brother-in-laws' in Wakefield MA and Huntington CT, glamping with her brother and sister-in-law in their deluxe RV and snowbirding with her sister and brother-in-law in Marco Island FL were some of her best times.

She was a surrogate mother to all who knew her, opening her heart and home whenever they needed a soft place to land. She was also a fierce advocate for all wildlife. No matter how precarious a situation, if an animal needed rescuing, Martha was the one to do it.

She loved Elvis, gardening, feeding the birds and baking. Her specialties were her mother's sour cream coffee cake and date-nut bread. She was an incredible artist, particularly with sketching and painting horses and family pets.

When her first grandson was born, she was entirely enchanted by him. Visiting him became rote memory of her daily commute home from work. She all but abandoned her home on the weekends so she could spend every minute with him.

Her second grandson was born with medical issues and without hesitation, she pivoted her life. She left Boston Financial for the Town of Marshfield Assessor's Office, sold her home and moved in with her daughter and son-in-law in order to support them. She worked tirelessly for her grandson and was his trusted companion while traveling every day to his school in Lexington MA. Nothing made her happier than being with her family.

She was the most charitable, generous, loving, dedicated and selfless person.

Martha is survived by her daughter Stacey (Folkard) LaVangie and her husband Keith; her cherished grandsons Kyle and Owen LaVangie; her brother Jeremiah (Jim) Folkard and his wife Deborah (Debbie); her sister Linda Mann and her husband Kevin and so many loving nieces, nephews, their spouses and children, all of Marshfield. She is also survived by her sister Jane Haley of Wakefield MA and her sister Susan Sousa of Huntington CT. She was predeceased by her parents Jeremiah and Ruth (Hassett) Folkard, her sister Judith Folkard and her brother David Folkard.

Family and friends are invited to attend the interment in Couch Cemetery in North Marshfield on January 9, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. A celebration of life will be held following the interment at Ocean House Coastal Grille in Marshfield.

In lieu of flowers, the family humbly requests a memorial donation to either New England Wildlife Center, online at: https://www.newildlife.org/ or Cotting School, online at: https://www.cotting.org/ both of which were incredibly influential in her life.