No headline
Martha ‘Marty’ Jane Kearney Wright, 74
Our Momma was perfect. She made everyone laugh. She was always sexy. Marty Jane Kearney Wright was a God-fearing woman, and she was super wise, elegant and simple. Once, she opened a jar of spaghetti sauce and it got on her fingers. She licked it off and with a smile on her face she said, “Oh, this is lovely.”
People who knew her loved her instantly. She kept her word. She died the other day. She wasn’t supposed to. We had plans — she wanted ducks to go along with the chickens. “My mother had ducks and the eggs were great.”
She was born in September of 1943. She was only 74; vibrant, alive, active. She is missed and her children ache for her to come home. Her children are Kristal Kearney, Anthony Notarstefano, Margaret Notarstefano, Elizabeth Wright and Sara Rubio. Her 11 grandchildren are David Quaring, Brittany, Candice and Jodi Notarstefano; Dylan and Trevor Masters; Jeremiah and Josiah Pannell; and Mark, Benjamin and Elena Rubio. She also had two great-grandchildren, Genvina and Elena Notarstefano.
She was so interesting. She was not a stranger to tragedy. She lived with her mother and invalid sister, Margaret Irene Fleming and Anne Elizabeth Galucci, who are waiting for her in Heaven.
She gave up her life to care for her mother and sister and following their deaths, she gave her life to care for her daughter, Margaret, who also suffered a brain injury. Margaret’s sisters, who love each other so much, will take care of each other now.
She is also survived by three sisters, Cathy Ortiz, Cindy Wright and Jeanette Saldana, and a brother, John Kearney.
We can’t read the Cd’A Press, because Momma would read it cover to cover, out loud, every day. Oh, what we would give to listen to Momma read the paper.
She took her time and finished what she started. She was a phenomenal artist. Her art is very coveted by anyone who had the pleasure of experiencing her work. Marty was fondly known as “The Turtle.”
She lived fully and passionately. She loved four partners in her lifetime, and they all continue to love her today. Her last partner and soulmate was Kelly Sturgis. He preceded her in death by just 94 days. Prior to that, she loved Pam Lookabill, who she still loved and cared for a great deal. After Kelly died, Pam took her out for lunch and she so enjoyed that day. Prior to that season in her life, she met and fell in love with (at first sight) Ronald Dale Wright, a talented musician. She last listened to his music a month ago, and crying, she turned it off, saying it was simply too beautiful. Once Ronny wrote Marty a song called “Straightline” and performed it in a band.
“Jamming days and jamming nights,
Used to make me feel alright.
Now the best things in my life-
Well, that’s music and my wife.”
She had such fond memories of those times. Life is such an adventure and time is so fast, yet so full.
When she was 16 she met Gary Wyatt in high school, and they conceived a child. That was 1960. She ended up in an arranged marriage, and she eventually fell in love with Benito Notarstefano and had two more children. Then her fairy-tale romance with Ronny produced two more children.
She loved living in Rathdrum, Idaho, and hated all the population growth. She did not want Rathdrum overcrowded and hated the traffic. We had many plans to restore the property her mother bought in 1978, making it a small farm again; goats, chickens, ducks, beehives. We her daughters will continue in her footsteps and her path.
Some of Marty’s favorite things were the colors red and yellow, watching the Ellen Degeneres Show and American Ninja Warrior. Her favorite book was “The Shack,” and she believed that we should forgive 70x7. Her name, Martha, means “Lady.” We will never forget you. She read the Bible every day, and the last scripture she looked up was Matthew 5:5. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Below are a few or Marty’s favorite quotes.
“Everything is always OK in the end. If it’s not, then it isn’t the end.”
“The biggest communication problem is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply.”
“In life, you’re going to be left out, talked about, lied to and used, but you have to decide who’s worth your tears and who’s not.”
Momma, we will continue the path you laid out for us. We will continue to live uprightly and worship the Lord. On Saturday, July 28, 2018, between 1 and 5 p.m., we will gather and plant trees on the family property and place Marty’s ashes under them. If you mean us no harm, you are welcome to join.
We love you, momma, passionately and miss you so much. Forever you will live on in our hearts and minds.