Martha Hay Eilertsen Dead at 52

Many readers will remember St. Paul’s parishioner Martha Eilertsen, who became a priest at St. Paul’s in 2003 and served for a short time at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Canonsburg. (I wrote a poem for Martha’s ordination, which you can read here.)

I received a message today from Jacqui Och, a good friend of Matha’s, that read, in part

I just wanted to let you know that Martha died yesterday at Hospice of Spokane, after 2 years of dealing with cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer)—an incredibly rare, aggressive and fatal form of cancer  She was only in hospice about 10 days—she began failing rapidly and was largely unresponsive much of the time. Since she was young her organs were strong and it took some time. Her family was all there—both elderly parents, Anna & Thomas, her brother & sister, and Jeff (who has stepped up to care for Martha and be with the kids in spite of the divorce). Jeff said her passing was “very peaceful and graceful.”  

Jacqui visited Martha this summer and took the photograph below in July.