Martha H. Kirby passed away on December 7, 2022. She was 89 years old. Martha was born in a white house in Waco, Texas on May 8, 1933. Her mother was a homemaker and her father owned a cotton gin. Martha was very much influenced by her grandfather, Will Derden, and his interest in Texas politicas. Martha, like her grandfather, was a lifelong democrat. At the age of two, she and her mother moved to Austin, where she went to school, graduating from Austin High School in 1951. She me her husband, Ralph Kirby, on a blind date in the fall of 1950. He was attending the University of Texas. They married and moved to Shephard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas where their daughters were born over the next few years. After Ralph's discharge from the Air Force, the family moved to Austin where their son was born. The family moved to Houston after Ralph's graduation from the University of Texas.
At the age of 34, Martha decided to attend college herself. She enrolled at the University of Houston in 1967 and graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After graduation, Martha worked for a Houston architectural firm as an interior designer, working on such projects as the remodeling of the Houston chronicle building, and a major Houston hospital. She introduced the concept of hospital walls painted colors other than white. Martha continued to work as an interior designed in Houston, Austin and El Paso until retiring in 1995.
From early age, Martha loved to paint, particularly landscapes. She preferred acrylic paint, but experimented with watercolor in her later years. She was an artist at heart.
Martha was predeceased by her parents, Thomas Harrison and Alma Derden Harrison Thrower; her stepfather, Webb Thrower; and her grandson, John Green. She is survived by her children, Linda Kirby (spouse Carl Green), Ann Rachel (spouse David Rachel) and Brad Kirby; her grandchildren, Cameron Kazol (spouse April Kazol), Julia Drewry (spouse Ryan Drewry), Sarah Skeuse (spouse Mike Skeuse), Meg Green (spouse David Mouser), Jim Rachel (spouse Anna Rachel), and Erich Rachel (spouse Shaeleah Rachel); and her great grandchildren, Kade McCuaig, Cole McCuaig, Whitlee Drewry, George Drewry, Casey Kazol, Kylie Skeuse, JD Skeuse, Myles Rachel, Westly Rachel and Sterling Rachel.
A graveside service will be held at Memory Gardens of the Valley at 4900 McNutt Road, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on January 14, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Funeral services are entrusted to Martin Funeral Home West at 128 N. Resler Drive, in El Paso, Texas. The family wishes to thank the staff of The Legacy and Hospice El Paso for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lee and Beulah Moore Children's home, the Kirby-Green Fund at the El Paso Community Foundation, or the Assistance League of El Paso.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MartinFuneralHomeWest.com for the Kirby family.
