Martha Ann King

struggle as soon as she was born. Her stay at the hospital

lasted 3 months before going home.

During a scene in the movie, Forest Gump, the

young boy who plays Forest, is hit in the eye with a rock

while talking with his friend. The rocks continue, along

with verbal threats from the boys who were bullying

Forest. The camera then focuses on his legs which are

supported by braces. Forest’s friend yells “Run Forest,

Run!”. Despite being hampered by the metal frames,

Forest quickly begins to walk then jog and finally as the

braces break free from his legs, he shifts into a sprint

never to look back. This visual reminds us that Martha,

crippled by polio, is now running in Heaven with her

Savior and those who arrived before her.

Her family did all they could to care for Martha and

at the same time made sure she was an important part of

the family. At age 5, Martha was selected to represent the

March of Dimes in Washtenaw County, as their poster

child in 1957. This resulted in dinners, visits and other

activities which allowed her to interact with many

people. One of those interactions happened through

mail with former 1st Lady, Elenor Roosevelt.

Martha attended Rackam School of Special

Education at Eastern Michigan followed by graduating

at Pioneer High. Coming from a musical family, Martha

had a great love of popular music. Her memory of songs

and who performed them was impeccable. She

remembered every note of countless songs including the

soprano background to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

A very difficult song to master. Although confined to a

wheel chair for decades, Martha loved people, music,

vacations, concerts, church and her family. When you

were in a room with Martha, smiles abounded.

Martha passed from this life suddenly on Monday,

December 27th, 2021 at U of M hospital. Several hours

earlier, Martha said good bye to her mom and sister who

were by her side. Martha was predeceased by her father,

Richard King and her sister, Charlotte and is survived by

her mother, Pat King and siblings, Jeff, Rob, Jim, Russ

and Julie. A mass and celebration of life with be planned

at a later date.

A Tribute from Martha’s brother Russ King.