Born in Akron, Indiana, (and raised in nearby Zionsville), Martha Clayton LaBorie was born on June 7, 1920, with stars in her eyes and an innate zest for life.

Forever dreaming of glamour and adventure, Martha took a train to New York City in her early 20s and never looked back — although she cried all the way there.

With vibrant chestnut hair, bright blue eyes, and a megawatt smile, she charmed everyone she met with her confidence and charisma. 

She a great sense of style, and she was known for looking smart in anything she wore. Her daughter Susan recalls watching her get dressed for a night out and thinking she had the world’s most beautiful mother. 

Over the years, she and her family lived in cities from east to west, and in many countries overseas. She took joy in every single place she landed, excluding only Carmel, California, where she could never reconcile herself to life in the “precious little village” that others described.

Martha was full of emotion, with a superb sense of humor and a penchant for tears. She was stubborn, quirky, and forever retained her down to earth sensibilities, even when socializing in the most highbrow of circles with her husband, Walter. 

Superstitious to the last, an eclipse or glimpse of the Northern Lights were a sure sign to Martha that the end of the world was nigh. 

Forever generous, she was never petty, and always upbeat — a true Gemini. People most often described her as “marvelous.” They remembered her laugh, her cooking, her famous parties. 

Broadway musicals, her friends, her family, nature, reading, hostessing, and food were her greatest passions. She believed milkshakes were the answer to everything from an upset stomach to utter heartbreak.

Indignant about injustice, in her older years she once whacked the side of the Exxon Valdez with her cane. 

Her family fondly recalls many offbeat moments with Martha, from the time she took off her red shoes and gave them to an admiring Maasai chief in Africa, to roller skating with her stepson Karl on the top of her apartment building in NYC. 

She was fond of Campari, wine, and singing off-key to Frank Sinatra. 

Martha passed away in San Diego, California, on February 25, 1996, survived by her three children — Daniel, Bernard, and Susan; her stepchildren Kathryn, Karl and Karen; and sundry grandchildren.

She was remarkable, and no one who knew her will ever forget the spark and spirit she brought into their lives.

As Billie Holiday once sang: “I’ll be seeing you/In every lovely summer’s day/In everything that’s light and gay/I’ll always think of you that way.” 💖