Martha Leitner

Martha Connelly Leitner, a 45-year resident of Manhattan, passed away after a long battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Martha was the pillar of her family and community, tending to both with charm, kindness and humor, which won her the devotion of many. A woman of great spirituality, she lived out her faith through generosity that she demonstrated in great and small ways every day of her life. She loved to sing, took great refuge in nature, and had a mischievous sense of fun.

Martha was born on September 18th, 1955 in Detroit Michigan, the fourth child and first daughter of John Patrick Connelly Junior and Mary Elizabeth (Marchev) Connelly. She attended Newton Country Day, a Sacred Heart School in Boston, and graduated from Weston High School, in 1972 at the age of 16, and then from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976 with a degree in American Civilization and New York University Stern’s School of Business in 1989. Upon graduation from University of Pennsylvania, she moved to New York City where she began her career in finance working in both Sydney, Australia and New York City with Banque Indosuez, before focusing her time on raising her family, which gave her great joy.

It was in New York City that she met Paul Nicholas Leitner, whom she wed in 1985. Together, they raised their three daughters on Central Park West, sending them to the Convent of the Sacred Heart and splitting their time between Martha’s beloved Adirondacks and Long Beach Island, NJ. Her husband, Paul, and their children all survive her: Marian Kate Leitner, Elizabeth Holly Leitner and Aileen Leitner Buck, as do their spouses David Lawson Waldman, Marty R. Cerles and Eric Gregory Buck, along with her grandson, Paul Lawson Leitner Waldman; in addition to her six siblings, nine nieces and nephews and two great-nieces.

She believed in the global cooperation fostered by the Olympics having served in the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid. She was an active supporter of Parent’s In Action, an advocate for women’s rights and protection against domestic violence. She also served on a number of local community boards.

A mass of Christian Burial at Blessed Sacrament, 152 West 71st Street, New York, NY will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, December 17, 2021.

The family asks that you wear a pop of color in honor of her spirit.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her memory to Alzheimer’s Research at NYU Langone.