Nancy Martin

Nancy Meredith Martin, 85, of Evanston, Illinois, formerly of Chesterton, Indiana, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 6, following a long journey with Alzheimer’s disease.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Norman and Dorothy (née Everson) Hall; her beloved husband, Jim Martin; her son, Kirk Schmieg; her stepdaughter, Moira Martin; and her stepson, Kevin Martin.

Nancy is lovingly remembered by her children and stepchildren: Sean Martin, Kieran (Lisa) Martin, Siobhan Martin, Kael (Karen) Martin, Deirdre Geiss, Rhiannon Schmieg (John Litus), Tadhg Martin, Padraig (Lindsay) Martin, and Fiona (Robert) McCarthy. She leaves behind fourteen grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and her beloved sister, Sara White and family in Michigan.

Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Nancy was raised in Royal Oak, attended San Jose State University, and became a flight attendant for United Airlines. She started raising her family in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and then blended with Jim and his family in Lake Bluff, IL before moving to Chesterton, IN where they resided together for 30 years. Nancy’s calling was as a mother. She devoted herself to family and the community of Chesterton, where she became affectionately known as “Mama Nancy” and later “Grandma Nancy” to the many she cared for. She was an active parishioner at St. Patrick’s Church and an avid seamstress; she lovingly made clothes, Halloween costumes, Christmas stockings, nightshirts, pajamas, and Irish step-dance dresses. Nancy delighted in birds, gardening, playing piano, and all creatures great and small. Her favorite color was the yellow of daffodils.

Despite a lifelong fear of water, she spent many summers sailing in Canada’s North Channel due to her love for Jim and their shared family adventures. Nancy and her sister Sara spent their childhood summers in Black Mountain, North Carolina with their aunts and uncle. Nancy loved the Blue Ridge Mountains, which she wished to be her final resting place.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Athanasius Church in Evanston on January 17 at 10:00 a.m. Donations in Nancy’s memory may be made to St. Athanasius School in Evanston, St. Patrick School in Chesterton, or Baker Demonstration School in Wilmette.

Arrangements entrusted to Chicagoland Cremation Options, Schiller Park, IL 60176