Beloved mother, cherished grandmother, and precious aunt, Martha Speirs, 95, died peacefully on Friday, October 28, 2022, in Brooklyn, New York, encircled by the love of her family. She will be remembered by the fullness of her life, the friends she kept, the people she helped, the books she read, the pets she loved, and the miles she walked. Martha was a singular force that held a family of five children together when her husband died at an early age. Her kindness may have masked her toughness but make no mistake, she was a mighty one, fiercely on the side of those in need.

Martha was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 4, 1927, to Scandinavian immigrants Fred and Inga Carlson. She attended P.S. 94 grade school, Pershing Junior High, and graduated from Fort Hamilton High School. After high school, Martha attended the Eastman Business School, where she graduated with a degree in secretarial studies and bookkeeping. Martha worked for a period of time for the Wanamaker organization in the executive office, followed by several years at Chase Manhattan Bank.

Martha was a faithful and active member at Trinity Lutheran Church in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she sang in the choir, was a Girl Scout leader, served in the Sunday school and also was a member of the Women's Circle Bible Study Group. It is at Trinity where Martha met Robert James Speirs, fell in love, and married on May 12th, 1951. Like most people, much of Martha's life centered around home and work. After the passing of her husband Robert in 1973, Martha went back to work using her business skills as an assistant at Trinity Lutheran Church for a few years. Following her employment there, she worked for more than twenty years for the Truman Moore Photography Studio as Moore's office administrator/bookkeeper. It was a very fulfilling position, and she always had interesting stories to share with her family about the people she met and the photo shoots that took place. Aside from spending all day at the studio and taking the subway to work every day, she also had time to make dinner for the family, and often friends, when she got home. She was an ever-present force in the lives of all who had the blessing of knowing her.

In the summertime, she enjoyed going to the beach with her family, and they would spend a lot of time at Coney Island, Brighton Beach, or the more distant Riis Park. She loved swimming in the ocean, so getting to the beach in the summertime was one of her favorite "get-aways." Martha didn't spend all of her time in Brooklyn, though, as she was able to travel around the country. These trips were first with the entire family on summer vacations to locations such as New England and Virginia to many historic sites and places of interest, such as Historic Williamsburg and Jamestown in Virginia and the Old Man in the Mountain in New Hampshire. In her later years, she was able to travel more extensively throughout the United States to visit family and friends in different cities and states including Illinois, to see her cousin Frances, to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota and to Des Moines, Iowa, to visit her son Robbie and his family. She also visited New Mexico, where her brother-in-law Randall and his wife, Anna, were living with their family.

In addition to her travels throughout the United States, Martha was fortunate enough to visit more exotic locations throughout the world including Israel and Italy as well as Egypt, where her two son's-in-law's (Ragaey and Aiman) families reside. While in Egypt, she visited the Great Pyramids of Giza and enjoyed her stay at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan where Death on the Nile was filmed, which thrilled her as she was an avid reader of Agatha Christie's mystery novels. As a devoted Christian, it was meaningful for her to visit locations such as the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, the City of Jerusalem, and the Vatican. All in all, she had a very rich and fulfilling life.

Her later years were spent with her grandchildren as well, watching CBS crime shows, sewing up old toys, knitting blankets and sharing her musical talent on the piano. Her every action fostered a love of God and learning within all those around her, and she leaves behind a legacy of kindness, love, and strength to be continued by those she has left behind. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert James Speirs, her parents Fred and Inga Carlson, and her brother Frank. She is survived by her five children, Robert (Terri) Speirs, Richard (Lori Welsh) Speirs, Thomas (Wan) Speirs, Lorraine (Aiman Moustafa) Speirs, and Carol (Ragaey Mansour) Speirs and her five grandchildren, Samantha Speirs, Amanda Speirs, Aidan Speirs, Laila Mansour, and Olivia Mansour.

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A memorial will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 6917 4th Ave. Brooklyn, New York 11209 at 12 p.m.

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Memorial gifts may be given in loving memory of Martha Speirs to:

THE HEALING CENTER - Website: www.thehealingcenterny.org
Mailing address if sending check:
7304 5th Ave.
PMB 272
Brooklyn, NY 11209
Telephone: (718) 238-5138, Email: info@thehealingcenterny.org

NEIGHBORHOOD CATS - Website: https://donate.neighborhoodcats.org
Mailing address if sending check:
2472 Broadway - #321
New York, NY 10025
Telephone: (212) 662-5761, Email: susan@neighborhoodcats.org