Tucson, Arizona.
Martha was born on September 30th, 1949, to parents, Victor and Jean Mergard, at Camp
Lee, Virginia. Her family moved to Tucson in the early 60's when her father left the Army.
She attended Palo Verde high school in Tucson then went to Northern Arizona University
for two years. Then she married Daniel O’Connor and started a family, having two children,
Matthew and Carrie.
Martha had some physical challenges, but she never let them stop her from helping anyone
that needed help or encouragement, or making her best effort to support our family. She
had the biggest heart of anyone I knew.
When her first husband passed away in 1980 Martha moved back to Tucson, AZ, which
is where I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting her in 1981, thanks to a blind date set
up by her father Victor. We were married in 1981 and added Jacob to our family in 1982.
Martha and I moved a lot over the next 38 years, with a career in IBM and several
successful small businesses. She was the rock of our family and she made sure that each
of our children “was her favorite”.
We used to joke about the fact that I didn't have 'store bought' bread for the first 20+ years
of our marriage. She loved to bake and make fantastic meals. She was very creative and
loved to give to others.
We were all blessed to have been loved by her and to have her in our lives.
Martha is survived by our children, Matthew (CT), Carrie (MA) and Jacob (MI), and also
our grandchildren, Evaly Rose Freed and Cohen Allen Freed, both of Chesapeake, VA.
Martha's parents have passed but she is survived by her brother, Victor Mergard, and two
sisters Melinda Heald and Cynthia Hafter, all of Tucson, AZ.
Martha's wish was to be cremated. She will travel with me for a while, continuing our
business. We were married 38 years and I'm not quite ready to let her go. A memorial
service will be held at a later date.
The engraving on her urn says it all, "My Love And My Best Friend".
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