Dr. Martha Norman Rashid of Bethesda, MD passed away peacefully on May 10, 2021, after a life guided by the love of learning. The youngest in a family of seven children born to Syrian immigrants in Geneva, NY on July 14th, 1927, Martha’s prodigious intellect and intrepid spirit took her from the farms of upstate New York to the hallowed halls of academia’s finest institutions. She was valedictorian of her high school and college classes, and received a scholarship for graduate study at the University of Iowa, where she earned her MA and PhD. In 1959, Dr. Rashid married Ray Rashid of Fort Madison, Iowa, and was immediately embraced by her new extended family.
Dr. Rashid spent many years as a Professor of Education at the George Washington University, where she developed their Master’s Program in Elementary Education and their Master’s in Gifted & Talented Ed. She was highly respected by her peers, frequently published, and her valued insights into shaping young minds allowed her the opportunity to travel the world as an educational consultant. She was also much beloved by her students, many of whom would become life-long friends.
When she was not “Dr. Rashid,” she was “mom” to her two daughters, Emmy and Teel. She was also known as “Aunt Marty” by her legions of adoring nieces and nephews, and as “Tita” by her grandchildren, who were her greatest joy. She loved to travel, and had friends and former students to visit as close as Virginia and as far away as South Korea. She had a fondness for the prose of Jane Austen, and was a longtime member of JASNA, the Jane Austen Society of North America. She possessed a sparkling wit and a fabulous sense of humor, and despite her small stature, her presence could fill up the largest of rooms. With her passing, the world loses one of its finest educators, and many of us have lost our favorite person.
Dr. Rashid was preceded in death by her husband Ray; her sisters Ruth McCauley, Helen Close, and Mary Elias; and her brothers Abe, George, and Joseph Norman. She is survived by her daughters Matilda Bardi (Washington, DC) and Emmy Rashid (Chevy Chase, MD); her grandchildren Marie, Madeline, and John Bardi; her brother-in-law Kenneth (Dawn) Rashid (Palm Desert, CA); and many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and former students.
A visitation will take place at Joseph Gawler's Sons Funeral Home on Sunday, May 16th from 4-7 pm, the Mass of Christian Burial will take place at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, MD on Monday, May 17th at 11 am with a burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, an organization that Dr. Rashid has supported since its inception.
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