Martha Ayer Martin

Martha Ayer Martin, 1918-2017

Martha Ayer was born in Hastings Nebraska on June 1 1918 to Stephen and Grace Ayer. In 1923 the family, by then including 2 younger siblings Virginia and Edison, moved to Waterford near Modesto California, alongside the Tuolumne River, where sight unseen they had purchased a home and a bank. Martha attended Waterford elementary and Oakdale high school.

In the 30’s they moved to Modesto, where Martha attended Modesto High School, Modesto Jr College, then transferred to UC Berkeley.

At Berkeley she was a drama major, and met her future husband Robert at a dance at the Masonic Hall, across Bancroft Way from the campus, on a site later to become the Berkeley Art Museum.

Martha married Robert Martin Sept 2 1939, and they resided in Venice, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Lunada Bay. Martha was immensely proud of her husband Robert, a structural engineer who was the lead designer for the second stage of the Saturn rocket, and for the wing structure of the DC-8.

Martha was much involved in the PEO, and in social activities in the Palisades and Malibu. Her interest in antique women's clothing blossomed in this environment, resulting in an impressive collection displayed in fashion shows for decades.

Martha leaves two sons, Robert in Redondo Beach, and Steven in San Francisco; grandchildren Daniel, Dennis, James, Trista, and Scott; and great grandchildren Layla, Vivienne, Ronan, Isabella, Rose, and Phoenix.