Martha Healy

1944 - 2018

Martha Healy

- - Martha Healy, mother, grandmother, sister, mentor, and friend, died suddenly Friday, February 2, 2018 at St. Francis Hospital. She was 73. She is survived by her sister, Florence Wagman Roisman, of Indianapolis, Indiana; her three daughters, Karen Healy, of Hartford; Deborah Healy, of Winston Salem, North Carolina; and Sarah Eagan, of West Hartford. She is also survived by her grandchildren Michael Strumpf, Henry Eagan, and Grace Eagan; as well as a large extended family and a multitude of friends.

Martha was born in the Bronx in 1944 and grew to become a perpetual explorer. She once said, "the minute I hear a train whistle, I start to relax." She traveled the entire United States and Canada on the rails and, upon return, would regale family and friends with stories about seeing the fog settle in the valleys below Banff from the dining car of a passing Amtrak train.

She looked for new adventures at home, too. She graduated from Marist College with a degree in psychology and worked for IBM for many years. But when she left IBM in the early 90's, her new adventures began. She started her own editing and transcription business and took great pride and delight in doing transcription work for the University of Virginia - Miller Center presidential oral history project. She also did transcription work for historian Taylor Branch on his three-book series on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his book on the presidency of Bill Clinton. Through her work, Martha came to be an expert on the American presidency in the 20th century, though, due to confidentiality agreements, she couldn't tell anyone all that she knew. More impressively, she actually kept the secrets she was charged with keeping.

Martha was a passionate advocate for the rights of children and adults with disabilities as well as a staunch supporter of basic civil rights for all people. She was a soft-touch for anyone looking to find a home for physically disabled pets such as her beloved one-eyed cat and she was unable to say no to a loved one who needed help with a new project. Over the past year, she spent busy days enjoying Silver Sneakers exercise, a Mindfulness class, heading a support group for families that have a loved one with special needs, and of course, attending rallies for human rights. Along the way she found time to purchase numerous odd gadgets for family and friends, most recently a French fry pan at Ocean State Job Lot—something you never know you even needed!

She expressed love by doing, whether it was writing letters to her grandson Michael in North Carolina, playing backyard soccer with grandson Henry, taking walks with granddaughter Grace, or simply making the world's greatest chicken soup when someone she loved came down with a cold. She was quick to brag about the accomplishments of her family and friends and she was the centerpiece of family connections that spread from Connecticut to Canada through the Midwest and out to California.

She will be deeply missed.

Visiting hours will be Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, 136 South Main Street in West Hartford. A memorial service will be held Friday, February 9th at 10 a.m. at the Universalist Church, 433 Fern Street, West Hartford, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the American Civil Liberties Union, or any organization seeking to protect human rights and freedoms.