Sister Martha was born in Rochester, New York, and entered the Mission Helper Community in 1962 at age 18. She says she was ready for religious life and didn’t look at any other communities.  She chose the Mission Helpers because, “I wanted to go places and do things and not be locked up in a building living a regimented life.”
 
Much of Sister Martha’s ministry focused on catechist formation—training adults to teach religion to children and prepare them for the sacraments. “I liked getting parents re-acquainted with religion, she says. “Things had changed so much since they were youngsters, and I had the opportunity to fill in the gaps in their background.”
 
She worked in the area of catechetics at the diocesan and archdiocesan levels in North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Vermont and Western New York, where she served for 11 years as the Director of Religious Education at St. Patrick’s and Holy Angels parishes.
 
In 2006 Sr. Martha was called to act as liaison to The Villa, the Mission Helpers Assisted Living and Nursing Care facility in Baltimore, where she served for 10 years.  She visited the residents each day, accompanying them on doctors’ visits and other healthcare appointments.  She was on call 24/7, responding to emergencies.  It was not unusual to find her in one of the local emergency rooms.  She was also with the Sisters during their final days and hours.
 
“The work was gratifying,” she says.  “The Sisters were preparing for the last stage of their lives, and I helped them through this period.  They had lived long, fulfilling lives and I helped them through the transition.”
Sr. Martha holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Theology from the University of Dayton in Ohio. 

Today, she continues to write many letters to family and friends; to sew, knit, crochet and create gifts for benefactors as requested; and to enjoy a slower pace of life.