Mary Martha Kurad

Martha Trotter Kurad, age 87, passed away in Mobile, Alabama, on July 6, 2025. Born on February 4, 1938 in Monticello, Arkansas to the late Mary Martha (Hayes) and William Yates Trotter Sr., Martha spent her childhood in Monticello. She attended college at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virgina, and went on to gain her Masters of Art in Teaching (MAT) from Trinity College at Duke University. After graduating she became an English teacher in Jackson, Mississippi.

Martha wed J. Ward Kurad, M.D. on December 31, 1964, after meeting on a blind date orchestrated by her sister and brother-in-law. They spent a few years in Baltimore, MD before moving to Hickory, NC where they raised their family and lived for over forty years. They moved to Mobile, AL in 2012 to be closer to family.

Martha contributed to a variety of charitable causes during her time in Hickory, including the Catawba Science Center, The Service League of Hickory, and initiatives at her church, St. Luke’s Methodist. Martha also penned humorous columns for the local newspaper, The Hickory Daily Record, in the vein of Erma Bombeck that featured musings on raising children and the associated chaos. Mostly, Martha enjoyed gardening and cultivating vegetable gardens with her husband where she could grow her beloved beets, lettuce, and eggplant. She always had two Shetland Sheepdogs to warn her of potential ominous visitors, like rapacious squirrels and marauding rabbits.

Martha is predeceased by her parents, brother (William Yates Trotter Jr., M.D.), and husband (J. Ward Kurad, M.D.) She is survived by three children and their spouses: Karen and Chad Alford of Mobile, AL; Stephen and Blakeney Kurad of Austin, TX; Suzanne and Russell McLemore of Portland, OR. She is also survived by her eight grandchildren: Thomas, Anna, and Nicholas Alford; Carson and Brady Kurad; and Trotter, Obie, and Brooks McLemore. She leaves behind one sister and one brother: Patricia Kirkland (Thomas) of Charleston, SC, and Virgil Trotter of Little Rock, AR.

A memorial service will be held at St. Luke’s Methodist Church on Saturday, July 26 at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the SALT Block Foundation, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory, NC 28601, www.saltblockfoundation.org or St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 52 16th Avenue NW, Hickory, NC 28601, https://www.slumc.org. Bass-Smith Funeral Home in Hickory is serving the family of Martha Trotter Kurad.

Funeral Home: Bass-Smith Funeral Home 334 2nd St., NW Hickory, NC US 28601