Martha Barbara "Glanbin" Kish

Martha Glanbin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1925, the seventh daughter in a family of eight children. After graduating high school, she worked as a switchboard operator, but the onset of WWII took in a different direction, and she became one of the trailblazing women working in factories so production could continue.

Martha met and married the Kentucky soldier William O'Brien in Detroit, whose Army career took them to Kentucky, Arkansas, Alaska (Martha passed on the opportunity to live there) and Arizona. Their four children, Bill, Barbara, Don and Erin, were born on Army bases across the country. It was at the last post at Fort Huachuca that William retired from Army duties and focused on running the bus depot and a side gig as a professional photographer. They settled in Sierra Vista, the small town close to Fort Huachuca, and both became involved with buiolding and growing St. Andrews Catholic Church.

William died in 1965 and Martha eventually remarried, moving with Harry Kish to Tucson, and eventually to Poway to be closer to the blended family's children who all lived in the area. Martha continued in Church Activities, serving as a catechism teacher, a catechist for RCIA, a eucharistic minister and as a member of the Catholic Daughters.

Martha truly embraced the awe in life and never failed to appreciate the spectacular sunrise or sunset the grandeur of desert landscapes in Arizona, the mild winters in California, the industrious hummingbirds who always found their way to her, a baby's smile and the cold press of a dog's nose into her hand.

Until her eyesight failed, she was a voracious reader juggling religious texts with murder mysteries, and she loved humor in every form. Martha enjoyed classic films as well, and took adult education classes in art, woodworking, cooking, weekend cultural jaunts and day trips to museums across Southern California. She often said if she had a chance to go to college, she would have become a lawyer. And certainly, political discussions with Martha became both vibrant and heated at times. She was a proud Democrat and case her last vote at age of 100.

Anything having to do with Christmas and seasonal decor was an enchantment to Martha. When she traveled, she could always be found in a Christmas market at some point. She loved the shopping, wrapping, baking and family gatherings of that time, singing Christmas carols and watching the Christmas specials on TV.

Perhaps it was marrying a soldier and packing up and moving frequently, but she loved having a trip on the horizon to plan for and enjoy. Trips to national parks, sometimes with a trailer in tow, were a part of growing up, and again, her love of nature came out in full force with every visit. She had an ultimate travel bucket list and only missed out on visiting Ireland. She would wait impatiently for the school year to end to launch another trip for summer vacation, excited to see a new place in a country she deeply loved.

Martha is survived by three of her four children: Barbara, Don and Erin, as well as seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. She finished her earthly journey on January 31, passing peacefully into rest.