Martha S. Stewart

Martha Sheldon Stewart, age 62, was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1960 and passed away on January 10, 2023.  She is survived by her sister, Laura (Stewart) Perez and her brother, John Stewart, nieces Elizabeth Borda, Charisse Connolly, Martha L. Connolly, and Elizabeth Stewart, nephews William Derby, Keith Connolly, and John Stewart, and beloved companion, Henry E. Kleinberg III.  She was the cherished cat mom of Frank, Wiley, Macho, Milton, Buster, Wotan, Groucho, Vlad and Wallenda.  She was preceded in death by parents Mary Louise (Laning) Stewart, and John Sloan Stewart, sister Mary Connolly, and nephew John Derby.

Martha graduated from Norwalk High School in 1979 and Baldwin-Wallace University with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1984.  She learned database and systems analysis at Playhouse Square Foundation which led to senior analyst positions at Washington Group International and Sherwin-Williams.  Martha was a consultant for the San Francisco Opera and attended their production of “The Ride of the Valkyries”.  She spent time in Mexico, Peru and Chile working for Sherwin-Williams where she nurtured friendships with those she met on her travels.  She loved making and sharing food with friends and neighbors.  She was selfless and loved taking care of other people.  Martha found joy and humor out of simple things.  She named the Hewlett Packard computers at Playhouse Square “Gumby” and “Pokey”.

Martha loved the performing arts and started tap dancing at an early age on a flatbed truck at the Milan Mellon Festival.  Her dream was to be a Radio City Rockette.  While in high-school Martha’s mother took her to New York City to take dance classes where one of the major studios wanted to sign her up.  She performed at Town and Country in Norwalk, Baldwin-Wallace University, Berea Summer Theatre and Greenbrier Theatre.  Martha worked in the costume shop at Berea Summer Theatre and The Cleveland Playhouse.  She performed in “Street Scene”, “Cabaret”, “A Little Night Music”, “The Grass Harp”, “The Music Man”, “Man of La Mancha”, “Pirates of Penzance”, “Jerry’s Girls”, “Carousel”, “Gemini”, and her favorite role as the Baker’s Wife in “Into the Woods”.  Martha sang in the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival.

At the drop of a hat, Martha would just start singing a song from a musical so the whole neighborhood could hear.  She was kind and giving to her friends, neighbors, co-workers and everyone she met.  She loved New York City and took candid pictures of people on the street (after talking to them and getting their permission).  Martha enjoyed attending the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.  She loved sailing, swimming, fishing, traveling, cooking, gardening, the Metro Park Zoo, the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Natural History Museum, ethnic food shops and The West Side Market.  She had a passion for The Cleveland Indians, Mister Rogers, Key West, Daffodil Hill, B-Horror Flicks, Film Noir, Svengoolie, Pee Wee Herman, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Liberace, Cyndi Lauper, The B-52’s, The Talking Heads and Buzzy Linhart (especially “Pussy Cat’s Can Go Far”).  She loved dressing up for Halloween and passing out candy to children.  No matter how bad the weather was, in 40 years she never missed the bag-pipes at the Saint Patrick’s Day parade and would raise a glass of Bushmills while listening to Steeleye Span. 

In her retirement, Martha was making hats for cats.

Her favorite saying was “Loungability Rules”.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Metro Park Zoo, The Animal Protective League, local animal shelters, Planned Parenthood, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the Sierra Club, humanitarian assistance for Ukraine or the charity of one’s choice.

A service celebrating Martha's life will begin at 10:00 AM on Sunday April 16^th, 2023 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Norwalk, Ohio.  Family and friends will be received after the service in Benedict Chapel adjoining the church.

Private family services were cared for by Slone & Co. Funeral Directors.