Martha Chandler

Martha Webb Chandler passed away on July 25, 2021, following a brief period of illness.

Born in 1930 to parents Harry J. and Francis (Newell) Webb, Martha grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts, which, at that time, was a relatively rural town. She attended elementary and high school there and following graduation from Boston University in 1952 she became a teacher. She taught school at the Summit School in Saint Paul, Minn., for several years before returning to Massachusetts where she earned a M.Ed. from Harvard in 1957.

In 1958 she met John Chandler, the brother of college friends; they were married in 1959 and lived in Laconia, NH, where he practiced law. They were members of the Unitarian Universalist Church, belonging to both the Laconia and Tamworth congregations. During the 1960s and early 1970s Martha pursued an active outdoor life while raising two children in Laconia (school year) and Wonalancet (summer). She returned to teaching in the mid-1970s at Laconia High School (LHS) and retired in the early 1990s. Long after her children were “out of the house” Martha still made it a point to attend LHS sporting events and cheer for all the kids.

Martha was an ardent feminist having experienced the prevalent discriminatory practices women faced in the midcentury; and she advocated for education and other life-expanding opportunities for all. A passionate conservationist, Martha became active with the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, which named her Conservationist of the Year in 2016 for her work on Mt. Major, and with the Maine-based Mahoosuc Land Trust. Martha loved outdoor life. She was the head of the waterfront at Camp Weetamoe on Lake Ossipee in the 1950s and continued to teach swimming into her 80s at White Lake State Park for the Town of Tamworth. She made a point to be active including taking part in White Mountain Miler events. She also enjoyed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, even this past winter at age 90, and walked up to a mile almost every day through May 2021. She volunteered with the Wonalancet Out Door Club — doing trail work in earlier years and shipping the T-shirts the club sells online.

Martha was predeceased by her husband John in 2016, and by her sisters Marian Webb Murray (1982) and Mary Webb Ambler (2015).

She is survived by her children, Ellen Chandler, and David Chandler and his wife Nina; extended family includes Caleb Ayers and his wife Ashley.

The family will hold a Celebration of Life service on September 1, 2021, at 3 p.m. in Wonalancet (under a tent).

Memorial donations and/or acts of volunteering may be made to Society for the Protection of NH Forests (ForestSociety.org; 54 Portsmouth St., Concord, NH 03301); the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust (USVLT.org) 111 Main St., Conway, NH 03818; the Mahoosuc Land Trust (Mahoosuc.org) PO Box 981, Bethel, Maine 04217; or the outdoor organization of your choosing.