Martha Miles Gordon was born in Philadelphia PA on November 11, 1922. She died on February 29, 2020 in Needham MA.
She was pre-deceased by her parents, Joseph Starne Miles and Elizabeth Mills Goshow; by her sisters and brothers Elizabeth, Helen, Joseph, and Benjamin; and by nephews Charles Miles Flynn and Benjamin Arthur Miles.
Martha had no children. She is survived by her nephews and nieces: Michael Miles Flynn (Chula Vista CA), Geoffrey Keeler Flynn (San Diego CA), Robert Starne Miles (Philadelphia PA), Carolyn Jane Miles (New Castle DE), Margaret Miles Shanler (Harpswell ME), Susan Starne Miles (Helena MT), and Elizabeth Starne Miles (Washington DC).
Martha was born at her parents’ home at 5453 Ridge Avenue in Wissahickon, Philadelphia in 1922. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings lived mostly at home during the Great Depression, but as her older sisters and brothers moved away for school, employment, or marriage, Martha was frequently the only child at Ridge Avenue. Martha’s parents were devout Baptists and active community members. Her father was an architect and artist, with a keen interest in local history, and Martha adored him. Several of her relatives encouraged her education in the arts, science, and spiritual life. Martha was particularly influenced by her aunt and uncle, Evelyn Miles and Franklin Keller, who had joined the Society of Friends in New York City at the time of the First World War.
Martha graduated from Roxborough High School in 1940. She was awarded a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art (later Philadelphia College of Art, now University of the Arts). Graduating in 1944, she worked in the fields of illustration and calligraphy for many years.
In 1946 Martha married Milton Myron Gordon at Radnor Friends Meeting, Ithan PA. Milton had been a conscientious objector since 1943, and a member of the Society of Friends in Syracuse NY. At the time of their marriage Milton was a graduate student in sociology and philosophy, and Martha moved several times with him as he pursued his academic career at Haverford College, Wellesley College, and University of Massachusetts. They divorced in 1964.
In the sixties, Martha went back to school, graduating in 1963 from the Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts, majoring in biological sciences, while working in the Geology Department at Wellesley College and undertaking several illustration projects with Professor Haig H. Najarian. Martha’s work is immortalized in the Textbook of Medical Parasitology and Sex Lives of Animals Without Backbones. She also learned the art of wood carving, beginning with an introductory class in 1974. Over the next twenty years she and a group of students met weekly with notable sculptor, Nathaniel Burwash. She created sensuous works inspired by natural forms.
Martha continued to work at Wellesley College, expanding her job with the Geology Department to become curator of collections and displays at the Science Center from 1975 until her retirement in 1992. During those years Martha traveled extensively, joining field trips with the science department, digging for fossils in Montana, exploring the geology of New England, and chasing total eclipses of the sun. Sometimes traveling solo, more often with friends or family, she made numerous trips to the British Isles, West Indies, and one around-the-world journey by tramp steamer. She loved spending time at the Cape Cod marshes and shores, and she passed many holidays with her brothers and sisters and their families in Philadelphia, Washington, and the Gulf Coast of Florida. In 2000 she moved to the retirement community of North Hill in Needham MA, where she lived the rest of her life.
Martha was a member of Radnor Monthly Meeting and was very fond of the members and the place. On December 12, 1968, her membership was transferred to Wellesley Monthly Meeting. More recently, accompanied by Anne Nash, she secured a plot in Radnor Monthly Meeting’s burial ground, between two families she had known well.
Martha was very active in Quaker affairs, both in Wellesley and more broadly. She organized and presented workshops on a variety of subjects, such as personal relationships and development of one’s own concept of God. Martha was an author of “Living with Ourselves and Others,” a lengthy and groundbreaking pamphlet discussing marriage and divorce in detail. She protested at Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant and, on occasion, withheld war taxes.
Martha and dear friend Patsy Shotwell often roomed together for retreats and New England Yearly Meeting Sessions. They exchanged birthday cards, jokes, notes and travelled to Europe together. They each had an engaging laugh, which blended well together.
Martha was committed to Wellesley Friends Meeting and engaged in just about all activities, as she was able. She gave messages during Meeting for Worship, served on committees, joined three small spiritual formation groups, and participated in the weekly Women's Group in the late 1980's and 1990's. As a member of the meeting’s knitting group, she made at least four afghans for high school seniors, the last of which was given posthumously.
Martha is best remembered for her long tenure as the meeting's librarian, curating a large collection on Quakerism and religion, along with related books on philosophy, history and the social sciences. There was little in the meeting library she had not read herself. She could be counted on to pull out an apt passage or make a helpful reference during discussions of Quakerism or religion. Her own shelves included a wide range of books, from large volumes of art prints, to novels and cookbooks. Her greatest interest, however, was in the life of the Spirit, and this was apparent from the books she chose to cherish.
Martha loved the world, and all its rocks, stars, ferns, birds, animals, books, and people. She dedicated herself to a more peaceful world, and she inspired her friends and family to do the same.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Martha’s memory to
Feeding America (www.feedingamerica.org) or Good Shepherd Hospice of Massachusetts (www.gscommunitycare.org)
She was pre-deceased by her parents, Joseph Starne Miles and Elizabeth Mills Goshow; by her sisters and brothers Elizabeth, Helen, Joseph, and Benjamin; and by nephews Charles Miles Flynn and Benjamin Arthur Miles.
Martha had no children. She is survived by her nephews and nieces: Michael Miles Flynn (Chula Vista CA), Geoffrey Keeler Flynn (San Diego CA), Robert Starne Miles (Philadelphia PA), Carolyn Jane Miles (New Castle DE), Margaret Miles Shanler (Harpswell ME), Susan Starne Miles (Helena MT), and Elizabeth Starne Miles (Washington DC).
Martha was born at her parents’ home at 5453 Ridge Avenue in Wissahickon, Philadelphia in 1922. She was the youngest of five children. She and her siblings lived mostly at home during the Great Depression, but as her older sisters and brothers moved away for school, employment, or marriage, Martha was frequently the only child at Ridge Avenue. Martha’s parents were devout Baptists and active community members. Her father was an architect and artist, with a keen interest in local history, and Martha adored him. Several of her relatives encouraged her education in the arts, science, and spiritual life. Martha was particularly influenced by her aunt and uncle, Evelyn Miles and Franklin Keller, who had joined the Society of Friends in New York City at the time of the First World War.
Martha graduated from Roxborough High School in 1940. She was awarded a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art (later Philadelphia College of Art, now University of the Arts). Graduating in 1944, she worked in the fields of illustration and calligraphy for many years.
In 1946 Martha married Milton Myron Gordon at Radnor Friends Meeting, Ithan PA. Milton had been a conscientious objector since 1943, and a member of the Society of Friends in Syracuse NY. At the time of their marriage Milton was a graduate student in sociology and philosophy, and Martha moved several times with him as he pursued his academic career at Haverford College, Wellesley College, and University of Massachusetts. They divorced in 1964.
In the sixties, Martha went back to school, graduating in 1963 from the Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts, majoring in biological sciences, while working in the Geology Department at Wellesley College and undertaking several illustration projects with Professor Haig H. Najarian. Martha’s work is immortalized in the Textbook of Medical Parasitology and Sex Lives of Animals Without Backbones. She also learned the art of wood carving, beginning with an introductory class in 1974. Over the next twenty years she and a group of students met weekly with notable sculptor, Nathaniel Burwash. She created sensuous works inspired by natural forms.
Martha continued to work at Wellesley College, expanding her job with the Geology Department to become curator of collections and displays at the Science Center from 1975 until her retirement in 1992. During those years Martha traveled extensively, joining field trips with the science department, digging for fossils in Montana, exploring the geology of New England, and chasing total eclipses of the sun. Sometimes traveling solo, more often with friends or family, she made numerous trips to the British Isles, West Indies, and one around-the-world journey by tramp steamer. She loved spending time at the Cape Cod marshes and shores, and she passed many holidays with her brothers and sisters and their families in Philadelphia, Washington, and the Gulf Coast of Florida. In 2000 she moved to the retirement community of North Hill in Needham MA, where she lived the rest of her life.
Martha was a member of Radnor Monthly Meeting and was very fond of the members and the place. On December 12, 1968, her membership was transferred to Wellesley Monthly Meeting. More recently, accompanied by Anne Nash, she secured a plot in Radnor Monthly Meeting’s burial ground, between two families she had known well.
Martha was very active in Quaker affairs, both in Wellesley and more broadly. She organized and presented workshops on a variety of subjects, such as personal relationships and development of one’s own concept of God. Martha was an author of “Living with Ourselves and Others,” a lengthy and groundbreaking pamphlet discussing marriage and divorce in detail. She protested at Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant and, on occasion, withheld war taxes.
Martha and dear friend Patsy Shotwell often roomed together for retreats and New England Yearly Meeting Sessions. They exchanged birthday cards, jokes, notes and travelled to Europe together. They each had an engaging laugh, which blended well together.
Martha was committed to Wellesley Friends Meeting and engaged in just about all activities, as she was able. She gave messages during Meeting for Worship, served on committees, joined three small spiritual formation groups, and participated in the weekly Women's Group in the late 1980's and 1990's. As a member of the meeting’s knitting group, she made at least four afghans for high school seniors, the last of which was given posthumously.
Martha is best remembered for her long tenure as the meeting's librarian, curating a large collection on Quakerism and religion, along with related books on philosophy, history and the social sciences. There was little in the meeting library she had not read herself. She could be counted on to pull out an apt passage or make a helpful reference during discussions of Quakerism or religion. Her own shelves included a wide range of books, from large volumes of art prints, to novels and cookbooks. Her greatest interest, however, was in the life of the Spirit, and this was apparent from the books she chose to cherish.
Martha loved the world, and all its rocks, stars, ferns, birds, animals, books, and people. She dedicated herself to a more peaceful world, and she inspired her friends and family to do the same.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Martha’s memory to
Feeding America (www.feedingamerica.org) or Good Shepherd Hospice of Massachusetts (www.gscommunitycare.org)