Martha was born on July 14, 1953 to Reverend Fleetwood and Ellen Albrecht, and she was the eldest of four children. Martha’s father was an Episcopal Minister, and Martha was a lifelong Episcopalian.
Martha graduated from Ashley Hall in 1971 and attended Hollins College before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975. She then attended the University of South Carolina School of Law where she met her husband Ned. The two graduated in 1978 and were married on December 30th of that year.
Martha worked as an Assistant Public Defender in Greenville County and spent 33 years as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Martha was very involved in her community. She was a member of the Greenville Professional Women’s Forum; the President of Stone Lake Pool; a board member of Project Care; and a leader at SPOHNC, a self-help nonprofit organization supporting people with oral, head, and neck cancer.
In 1995, Martha was diagnosed with cancer and given 2-5 years to live. She underwent numerous surgeries and throughout all of the trials and tribulations, her kind and gentle spirit never wavered. Because of her sweet disposition and unrelenting perseverance, her family calls her their walking angel.
Martha and her husband have attended Christ Church since 1992 where Martha was active in the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, a healing ministry. She was also a member of the Just Faith Ministry and a part of the centering prayer group at the church, and she valued meditation and yoga along with prayer as part of her recovery.
From the beginning of her diagnosis, Martha’s prayer was to see her children grow up, and her prayers were answered. Martha was a devoted wife and mother, a woman her husband lovingly refers to as “an elegant iron wisp of a woman”.
Martha is survived by her husband of 39 years, The Honorable Edward W. “Ned” Miller; her daughter, Elizabeth Lehman Miller; her son, Edward Walker Miller and his wife, Leigh Frasher Miller; her granddaughter-to-be, Lillian Martha Miller; her mother, Martha Ellen Jones Albrecht; her two brothers, Charles Beaufort Albrecht, II and Fleetwood James Albrecht, Jr.; and her sister, Helen Albrecht Berg.
Martha is predeceased by her father, the Reverend Fleetwood James Albrecht.
A memorial service will be held at Christ Church on Friday, June 15th at 3:00 p.m. A reception will follow the service at historic Christ Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Christ Church International Order of St. Luke the Physician, 10 N Church Street, Greenville, SC 29601 or the Cancer Society of Greenville, 113 Mills Ave, Greenville, SC 29605.
