Martha Haines Ziegler, age 84, died Sept 13, 2014. A resident of Woburn,
Somerville, Cambridge, and Lexington, she was born in 1930.
She is survived by her son Fred of Arlington, her daughter, Mary Ann of
Lexington, and her sister, Lois Deputy and husband, Richard of Fort Wayne,
IN; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was the widow of
George F. Ziegler III, a World War II veteran and optical engineer. She is
also survived by legions of friends and colleagues across the country and
the world.
Martha attended Franklin College and was honored by them in 2013. Indeed,
she was honored many times over her life.
Martha gained national recognition as a leader and activist in the fight to
secure educational rights for children with disabilities--this, at a time in
our country when millions of children were legally excluded from school and
parents were urged to institutionalize their children. Working in
Massachusetts with a coalition of professional organizations seeking to end
this exclusion, Martha spearheaded a coalition of parent-led organizations.
With her leadership, parents across the country worked in partnership with
professionals to secure crucial educational rights for all children with
disabilities. Today, generations who have benefited from Martha's work are
living previously unimaginable lives as valued members of their communities.
Martha's passion for educational rights for children with disabilities was a
natural progression of her passion for social justice and her civil rights
activism through the sixties. Martha recalled watching her school-aged
daughter Mary Ann, who has autism, stand at the window and watch her younger
brother, Fred, head to school every morning. Participating in the Martin
Luther King March on Washington a few years earlier drove home the need to
organize to end this kind of exclusion also. "Don't mourn, organize" became
one of our mottos.
Across this country, mothers and fathers of children with disabilities,
adults with disabilities, and many professionals knew and loved Martha. Not
only as a great leader, but also as a loving mother and as a true and
personal friend to so many. She is beloved for her outstanding
accomplishments, indeed, but also for her wit, her humor, her love of her
family and friends, and her love of life — beginning with lunch!
A memorial service will be held at Church of the Redeemer on Thursday, Oct 2
2014 at 11:00am - 6 Meriam St, Lexington, MA.
Donations in her name may be made to the Federation for Children with
Special Needs (the organization she founded), 529 Main St, Suite 1102,
Charlestown, MA 02129.