Martha Frances McMullen, 78, of Vero Beach, passed away on July 10, 2016.
She is survived by two nieces, Shirley (Patsy) Zedar and Heather Frances McMullen; two nephews, James McMullen Little and D. Drewry McMullen; two cousins, Elizabeth Owen McCarthy and Lelia Thiermann Taylor; two step-children, Karen Palmberg Hyland and Brian Palmberg; five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her sister Betty Ann Little, and brother, Dan Drewry McMullen.
McMullen was born in Orange, N.J., the daughter of Joseph Harold McMullen and Frances Drewry McMullen. She graduated with honors from Wellesley College and earned an MA in Psychology from Columbia University.
Her early careers included research in biological psychology, college administration, and computer programming. Her great passion was writing and her proudest accomplishment the publication of “Driving Woodie: Tales from the Home Front in World War II.”
McMullen’s journals and notes provided material for her work with the Writers’ Circle at the Kravis Center for the Performing Art (West Palm Beach.) As well, she attended the Green Mountain Writers Conference in Vermont and Great Smokies Writing in North Carolina. At the time of her death she was completing two other memoirs, “Grand Ottie” and “Beyond Sisters,” each about family, friendship and caregiving.
In addition to her writing, McMullen’s interests were many and varied: travel, photography, scrapbooking, gardening, theater, dance, music, sports and social justice. She played field hockey at Wellesley and was a member of the USA Field Hockey team, playing at the national level.
She was a founding member, board member, and supporter of many organizations focusing on women’s education including AAUW; The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers; The GEM (Gaining Educational Momentum) Fund; a halfway house; and Friends of the Lake Worth Public Library. Martha had a strong commitment to the Unitarian Universalist Church, which had been an important part of her life for 30 years.
Intelligent and with an incomparable memory, she loved to tell a story and hear a good one. She grew up in Short Hills, N.J.; lived in New York City, Summit and Morristown, N.J. as an adult; and in retirement divided her time between Asheville, N.C., and Lake Worth, Fla., until moving permanently to Vero Beach.
She shared her home with Xanda, a mischievous Beagle/Jack Russell terrier, and Ginger, a Golden Retriever, and most recently with Wishbone, a loving Japanese Chin.
Memorial service for Martha (Nancy) McMullen is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Aug. 26, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach. Celebrants will be the Revs. Maureen Killoran and Scott Alexander. Reception will follow at the Fellowship.
Memorial donations in her name may be made to one of the following: The GEM Fund of AAUW Asheville, 4B Long Shoals Rd., #135, Arden, NC 28704; Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach, 1590 27th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or Writers Academy at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL, 33401.
Arrangements are by Strunk Funeral Home and Crematory, Vero Beach.
A guest book is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
