Harriet Laird Martin, 92, of New Orleans, died peacefully and surrounded by her family on Thursday, March 1, 2018. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 25, 1925, the daughter of Robert Alexander Laird and Frances Ward Laird. She was the identical twin sister of the late Katharine Laird Livaudais. She was a 1946 graduate of Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University when she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts with a major in French and minor in Italian. In June 2016, on the occasion of their 70th graduation anniversary, she and her beloved sister Katharine were personally honored by the President of Tulane University as Emeritus Club members of the Tulane Alumni Association. She was a proud and partisan “Greenie” who is survived by two generations who have attended Tulane University, Newcomb College, Tulane Law School, and Tulane Medical School.
She was married to Richard Massie Martin from 1954 until his death in 2003. She is survived by her son Richard Massie Martin, Jr., her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Wynne Martin, her three grandchildren Harrison Denegre Martin, Olivia Leigh Massie Martin, and Julia Elizabeth Lindsay Martin, and her son Laird Denegre Martin. She is also survived by her nieces, Harriet Livaudais Buckner and Madeleine Livaudais Roberson, and her nephew, Alfred Friedrichs Livaudais, Jr., of whom she was especially fond.
Harriet Martin was active in various social organizations and clubs, including The Orleans Club, Le Petit Salon, France-Amerique de la Louisiane, Les Causeries de Lundi, and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. On April 29, 1994, in recognition of her lifelong efforts to promote the French language and French culture in Louisiana, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of France officially recognized her as a Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Her other great passion in life was music, especially playing piano compositions by Beethoven and Chopin, and attending Tulane Summer Lyric Theater. She also greatly enjoyed the symphony and opera in New Orleans, and has passed her passion for classical music to her children and grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home in New Orleans on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at 11:00 o’clock a.m. Visitation will be from 10:30 o’clock a.m. until 11:00 o’clock a.m., immediately preceding the service.
To view and sign the guest book, visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.
