Legacy.com
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Keller, Martha Heefner Woodstock, Vermont- On Thursday, October 6th, 2022, the long, creative, and unique life of Martha Heefner Keller, 86,came to its end at Woodstock Terrace. Martha was born November 22, 1935, in Baltimore, MD, daughter of Daniel and Mabel (Smith) Heefner. She spent her childhood in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania until attending Northfield School for Girls in 1949, but always considered herself "a Pennsylvania farm girl" at heart. She went on to study Early Childhood Education at Vassar College, graduating in 1957. She achieved her masters in education at Harvard after starting her family in Nahant, Massachusetts. After Vassar, she lived in Philadelphia, working as the "Toy Lady" in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She loved children; throughout her whole life, she would drop anything she was doing to learn from them. Martha married John Wilbur Keller in Nahant, Massachusetts, where she lived from 1963-2017. She spent five years in New Hampshire at Harvest Hill, Lebanon, NH from 2017-2022 prior to her move to Vermont. Her years in Nahant were marked by a fervent dedication, first to her graduate work as a young mom; then to her job as a professor at Tufts University (Eliot-Pearson Children's School, head teacher), and as an artist and craftsperson. She blew glass; got her Master Weaver rating with the Boston Weavers Guild; made baskets that were published. She was a creative force to be reckoned with. Perhaps her heart and soul found their calling most clearly in her active involvement in the addiction and recovery movement, helping untold numbers while living by tenets that benefited everyone she knew. The last of her married years were marked by travel to Mexico, China, Peru, Africa, the British Isles, and India. She took no guff; "guff" was hers to define. She had a mind of her own in the best way possible. She was truly an inspiration to all who had the honor of getting to know her in many ways. She was fierce, spunky, beautiful, and funny. Her beloved contemporaries described her as "wild" and "out there." She did what she wanted to do. She made friends everywhere she went, including a community in Cancun, where she and her husband shared a timeshare from 1990-2010. Martha is predeceased by her first husband John Wighton, her second husband John Keller, her daughter, Ann Morgan Bailet, and her brother, Daniel Heefner. She is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Greenhow Keller, of Norwich, Vermont; four stepchildren; ten grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, and a brother Thomas Heefner of Mercersburg, PA. Visiting hours will be held at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Junction Wednesday, October 12 from 3-6PM. Funeral services will be held at the Nahant Village Church in Nahant, Massachusetts at 11am on Friday, October 14, 2022. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Upper Valley Turning Point 200 Olcott Dr, White River Junction, VT 05001 or the Northern New England Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 20 Trafalgar Square Suite 447, Nashua, NH 03063. View the online memorial for Martha Heefner Keller (https://www.lastingmemories.com/martha-heefner-keller)
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