Martha Maynard Howell

Maynard and William A. Maynard. The third of six daughters - Jayne, Betty, Nancy, Sophie and

Emma – who were raised primarily by their mother, Martha attended New York City public

schools and graduated from George Washington High School in Manhattan.

The Maynard girls were all resilient, opinionated, adventurers. Martha, in particular, was a

vivacious go-getter. As teenagers, she and her sisters, Jayne, Betty and Nancy, became

accomplished track and field stars, amassing numerous medals as members of the Mercury

Track Club and the Police Athletic League Olympians. Strong, compact and competitive, Martha

was a sprinter.

During World War II, Martha worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard manufacturing flanges for naval

ships. She also operated a bench lathe and drill press, creating machine gun parts critical to the

War Effort. Martha was later employed by the Veteran’s Administration at the Kingsbridge

Road Veterans Administration facility in the Bronx.

After the war, Martha met Cleveland A. Howell Jr. at a wedding reception. Their courtship was

brief, but their love was lasting. The couple married shortly after meeting and spent their

honeymoon at the East Hampton home of Martha’s cousins, Gladys and Gordon Dickenson of

Three Mile Harbor Road.

At a time before the notoriety of the Hamptons as a vacation destination, Martha, her family,

and their friends spent many happy summer days there. Martha helped form a woman’s social

group called The Tuscarora Girls, which hosted events and beach parties in East Hampton, as

well as at Harlem nightclubs, including Small’s Paradise.

Martha and “Cleve” soon took up residence in the West Bronx neighborhood of University

Heights and started a family. Their first child, Daniel, was born in 1950, followed quickly by

Stephen in 1951. Their third son, Thomas, arrived 11 years later. In 1970, on Daniel’s 20th

birthday, the family moved to a brand new residential community in the Bronx, Co-Op City.

Martha quickly asserted her natural leadership skills in her new community, becoming the

Director of the Northeast Bronx Cultural Center and the Riverbay Fund. When she identified a

deficit in Co-Op City’s cultural programs, Martha learned how to write grants and ultimately

received funding to bring a range of exciting and enriching new programs into the community.

These were no small-time productions! Martha produced shows with popular recording artists

and entertainers, including Ray Charles, The O-Jays, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Ray

Barretto, Tito Puente, Ramsey Lewis, The Geoffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, WWF

Wrestling and various others. She was also a dedicated and vital member of

Saint Michael’s Roman Catholic Church.

Martha continued to be a Co-Op City fixture, tirelessly pouring herself into community work

even after losing her beloved Cleve in 1985. Six years later, at age 68, she retired from the

NEBCC and Riverbay Corporation and gamely moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she

purchased her first home. Martha thrived in “Sin City,” building strong friendships and a

vibrant, active retirement marked by more than a few jackpots on the slot machines. She also

was an avid craps player and she reveled in the opportunity to take her grandsons to play

alongside her when they came of legal age.

After 28 years living on her own, Martha returned to New York in 2019 to live her final years

with her sons and family. She passed away peacefully on March 3, 2021 after being in hospice

care at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx for a single day. Predeceased by her husband, Cleve, as

well as her son Stephen, in 1989, Martha is survived by her sons Daniel and Thomas, their

respective spouses, Cheryl and Jeanne, daughter-in-law Georgette, grandchildren Eric, Mark,

Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Russell, Karinne, and great-grandchildren Julieanne, EJ, Nathaniel, Jeremy,

Ari, Stephen, Justin and great-great grandchild Jon Michael.

It’s been said that the service you perform in life is the rent you pay for entry into Heaven.

Martha’s rent is Paid-in-Full. May she rest in eternal peace.