Martha Ball Clayton
June 17, 1930-Dec. 19, 2024
Los Gatos, California

Martha Ball Clayton

May 17, 1930 - December 19, 2024

Martha Ball Clayton, loving mother, wife, grandmother (Gram), church leader and cherished friend, passed away at The Terraces of Los Gatos, California. She was 94 years old.

Martha was born in Flint, Michigan on May 17, 1930, to Leroy and Dorothy Ball. Survivors include her three children, Paris Geiken (Scott Toll) of Ashland, OR, Stacy (Bonnie Broderick) of Los Gatos, Brooks (Delfina) of Berkeley, CA, and grandchildren Nico, Vivian Will, Wesley, Sara and Eugenio. Martha is also survived by her stepdaughter Jan Clayton of Los Altos, CA (Dave Smith), sister Lorna Prescott (Gerald, d.) of Ann Arbor, MI, along with many nieces and nephews.

Martha was predeceased by her second husband, Richard Clayton (2004), former husband, H. Jack Geiken (1983), sister Barbara Bacon, and her parents Dorothy and Leroy Ball.

Martha attended Abbott Academy and was a graduate of Smith College, continuing to attend reunions and gatherings with childhood and college friends. Nothing was more important to Martha than family. A devoted mother and daughter, she travelled to Michigan every summer from 1957 until her Mother's death in 2000. In Michigan, she and her three children would spend summers with her parents, her mother-in-law and her sisters and their children. When she became a grandmother, she held gatherings on every major holiday at her home in Palo Alto until moving to the Terraces in 2005.

Martha was an avid cook and her interest in cooking began when she watched 'The French Chef' with Julia Child on PBS. Cooking was her way of bringing people together; creating a closely knit family and community.

An active member of Palo Alto's First Presbyterian Church since moving to California in 1957, she remained active in her faith community until she moved into the assisted living section at The Terraces. While a dedicated member of First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, she became a founding member of Kara, a non-profit organization dedicated to Grief Support for Children, Teens, Families and Adults.

Martha was also a lifelong supporter of education; she read to children at Blossom Hill School in Los Gatos for many years and she also taught knitting to many school-aged children.

She was an avid reader; Anna Quinland and Pauline Kael were two of her favorite authors. Literature, theater arts and cinema were passions and she shared them with her children and her closest friend, the late Vivian Gottlieb of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

She kept a close eye on local politics and voted all of her adult life. A lifelong Democrat, Martha worked for social justice and peace.

The family derives great comfort in knowing that the staff of The Terraces provided many years of kind and loving care and companionship to Martha, and we are grateful for the compassionate care provided by Hospice of the Valley.