Martha Ann Fitzpatrick

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Martha Ann Fitzpatrick on Monday, July 18, 2022. After having been successfully treated for breast cancer nine years ago, it returned in her bones last year. Once again, she was miraculously able to recover from that, only to have it return again this year, this time in her liver. After 3 months of brutal chemo, Martha bravely chose to enter hospice and live out her days in the comfort of her beautiful home with her husband, Stephen, and surrounded by her artwork, books and nature. It was a peaceful transition, as she was no longer in any pain and she was fortunate enough to have her daughter and a good friend by her side. She was also blessed to get a visit from a priest the day she died, which, as a devout Catholic, was of great comfort to her.

In 1969, Martha gave birth to Jeff, the first of her two children. Just over a year later, her daughter, Julie, was born. She doted on her kids and always provided a loving and supportive environment throughout their childhood. After her divorce from her 1st husband, Martha immediately went back to school and received her Bachelors in Art History from Bradley University, graduating with honors. She then went to graduate school at Harvard, where she received her Masters in Landscape Architecture.

After working for several years as a project manager in the private sector and for the city of Boston, Martha longed for the opportunity to make her living being creative rather than as a cog in the municipal wheel. She was accepted into the Bookbinding Program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, and after graduating, she moved to New York City and began a book conservator internship at the Morgan Library. Impressed with Martha’s work, the Morgan offered her a salaried position in the rare books department, where she worked until retirement.

Deep in her heart and soul, Martha was an artist. She had a lifelong passion for creativity and loved working with her hands. After retiring from the Morgan Library, Martha was able to commit all of her time pursuing her various creative interests including pottery, sculpture, quilting, sketching, photography, constructing quirky dioramas and of course her first love... painting. She possessed a unique style with her works, and was always willing to experiment with mixed media. Her only "shortcoming" as an artist was never truly seeing how gifted she was.

The only thing that rivaled Martha's love of all things art was her compassion for others. Those of you who were blessed to be friends with Martha or even casual acquaintances know what an amazing and kind human being she was, able to make new friends wherever she went. She was always ready to lend an ear, provide support, and share endless laughs and love, regardless of it being family, friends, co-workers, or someone she just met.

Martha was also deeply passionate about social justice, consistently active in her community volunteering, attending protests, and speaking out for anyone whose voice wasn’t being heard. Simply put, Martha was always one to help people in any way that she could, doing it from the goodness in her heart, not for any kind of accolades or recognition for her work.

She also brought a sense of adventure everywhere she went. She had a wicked sense of humor and was not at all afraid to poke fun at herself. And because of the light Martha brought to all those around her, she had a wonderfully eclectic group of friends throughout her life. Her kind spirit and infectious laugh will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation in Martha's name to an organization she loved:

We Rise Above the Streets

website: https://www.facebook.com/weriseabovethestreetsrecoveryoutreachinc

Checks: 404 Oak Street, Suite 111, Syracuse, NY 13203

PayPal: [email protected]

Services are being handled by R.J. Fahy Funeral Home in Norwich, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, August 1st at 10:30 a.m. at St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, 31 E. State St., Sherburne, NY. Burial will immediately follow in South Plymouth Cemetery, South Plymouth, NY. A livestream of the mass and burial on August 1st will be available via the funeral home’s Facebook page. For those unable to view on the day, a recording of the services will be available as well.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RJFahy

Please RSVP for the picnic at [email protected]