Remembrance of the Life of Martha McNamara CoL

Loretto Co-member Martha McNamara died Feb. 6 at Loretto Living Center in Nerinx, Ky. She was 79.

Martha was born to Robert Rihn McNamara and Rebecca Black McNamara in Elizabethtown, Ky. She graduated from Elizabethtown Catholic High School in 1964, where she was taught by the Sisters of Loretto, including Sister Marian McAvoy.  She entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of Loretto on Sept.  15, 1964, and was received on May 31, 1965, taking the name Sister Ann Martha.  She continued her studies in St. Louis at Webster College (now University) in May of 1969.  Her postgraduate studies were completed at Southern Illinois University.  After her studies, she went on to teach preschool in St. Louis for several years.  She was later dispensed from her vows and became a Co-member on Oct. 17, 1987. 

Martha returned to Elizabethtown, where she was known as a master storyteller and a gifted teacher of small children.  Illness prevented her from seeking full-time employment but she continued to work with young children. She was creative and enjoyed art and cultural events in E ’town. Martha and her sister, Mary Lane McNamara, were very close and regularly ate meals and socialized together. Martha continued to be devoted to the Loretto Community and was a faithful reader of Interchange and Loretto Magazine.

She had a serious fall in December 2025 and was hospitalized in Elizabethtown, before transferring to Signature Health Care Center for rehabilitation.  She moved to the Loretto Living Center at the Loretto Motherhouse on Jan. 5, 2026.  Martha was hospitalized at Springview Hospital in Lebanon, Ky., on two occasions. She returned to the Living Center on Jan. 31, where she remained until her death in the early morning hours of Feb. 6.  Her sister, Mary Lane, was with her when she died. Her former classmates, Mary Louise Denny SL and Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL, accompanied Martha in her final days.  

Martha’s wake will take place 4 to 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, Feb. 11, at Brown Funeral Home in Elizabethtown. Her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 12, at St. James Catholic Church in Elizabethtown, with burial to follow at St. James Catholic Cemetery.       

Please keep Martha, her family and all her loved ones in your prayers. May she rest in peace.