Audrey M. Martin

Audrey R. Martin, of Danbury, Connecticut, passed on December 20, 2015 in the comfort of her home, surrounded by loved ones. She will be remembered as a fun and loving daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt. The daughter of William Frederick Rappe and Dorothy Abbott Rappe, Audrey Margaret Rappe Martin was born in Manhattan on July 18, 1931. Her family lived in the Bronx until Audrey was nine, when the family moved to the Byram section of Greenwich, CT. She attended Greenwich schools, graduating Greenwich High School, Class of 1948.

After graduating, she married William Martin, and moved to Centereach, NY, before settling in New Fairfield, CT. She continued to work and contribute to her community while raising her five children. She was an active member of the New Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, was the leader of her daughters’ Girl Scout troop, a reader and driver for the National Federation of the Blind, Connecticut Chapter, and volunteered for the Red Cross. A prominent member of the choir at the New Fairfield Methodist Church, Audrey, with her then husband Bill, started the “Carol and Scripture” worship service on Christmas Eve, which became a yearly tradition. She was also a board member of the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury and worked for a time at the Danbury Hospital and for the New Fairfield school system.

Her professional life included a position as Human Resources Manager with Grolier Publishing, retiring in 1996, and several part-time positions including Supervisor for CACD Energy Assistance program in Danbury, and receptionist for both the Newtown Senior Center and the Danbury Senior Center.

In retirement, Audrey was never idle and her creative mind was active still. She took courses in art and culture, and was known for her generosity to family, friends and neighbors.

She was pre-deceased by her only sibling, a sister, Jean Ann Rappe Morris, and her ex-husband, William Martin. A mother of six, she was pre-deceased by her eldest daughter, Paula Martin. Her five surviving children include: Pamela Martin Waugh of Fairfield; Peter B. Martin (Josephine) of New Fairfield; Deidre Martin Sommerer of Brookfield; William J. Martin III (Jennifer) of Holden, MA; Kyle A. Martin (Marisa) of Parker, CO. Grandchildren include Derek and Kelly Martin, Hillary Waugh Bruce, Samantha and Jonathan Sommerer, and Madeline and Hallie Martin. She was the great-grandmother of Klaus Day and Kayden Martin.

No services are planned. In lieu of flowers, one may consider donations to Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, 2 West Street, Danbury, CT 06810 (http://www.wcogd.org/) or Compassion & Choices, P.O. Box 485, Etna, NH 03750-0485 (http://compassionandchoices.org).