Martha B. Erickson

Martha Brosnan Erickson, resident of Asbury Heights, passed away on Thursday, July 17, 2025, at the age of 97.

Born in Indianapolis just prior to the Great Depression, “Marty” was a bit of a tomboy growing up – known for her wicked curve pitch playing kickball. She learned resilience early in life, losing her mother to pneumonia at the age of nine and, along with her three sisters, being shipped off to boarding school at the Ursuline Convent in Brown County, Ohio. Martha was only too happy to return to Indianapolis life after her father remarried. 

She graduated from Marian College in 1949 and drove to Chicago in her Karmann Ghia to begin her teaching career. She embraced city life, living with four women in a “penthouse” apartment in the Rogers Park neighborhood, and teaching at Chippewa Elementary School in suburban Des Plaines. The “Penthouse Girls” would often host rooftop gatherings, including an Oktoberfest styled beer blast that was featured in the Chicago Tribune Magazine.

While teaching at Chippewa, she met Robert, the widowed father of students Jonathan and Matthew. When Marty and Bob courted, a letter mailed from Des Plaines on Tuesday arrived 12 miles away in Rogers Park on Wednesday, but a phone call between the two was expensive. Marty saved all the cards and letters Bob wrote – often twice a week. They married in 1963 and had two more sons, Mark and Luke.

Sadly, Martha lost Luke when he was just 3 years old and Bob after less than 15 years of marriage. A part-time teacher at the time, she had to find something better quickly to remain in the family home in Deerfield until Mark could graduate high school.

At a time when she - like most people – knew nothing about computers, she parlayed her teaching background into a role as the technical support desk for a small software company. The “family Christmas gift” was an Apple II+ so that she could learn more, and Mark could hack copies of computer games. Later, recognizing the power of technology in the classroom, she sold computers to school districts in Northwest suburban Chicagoland.

In 1990, Marty moved from Chicago back to the Indianapolis area to look after her ailing stepmother. Reconnecting with many old friends led to regular meals with the “Lunch Bunch,” a collection of women who had attended St Joan of Arc grade school, St Agnes High School or Marian College.

A passionate lifelong golfer, Martha hit a “hole in one” while she and Bob were in Scottsdale, AZ, in 1972. Even into her 80’s, she joyfully played in three golf leagues, winning city championships twice in her flight class (once beating the daughter of a woman she had gone to school with). Pars became rarer, but nothing brought a bigger smile than a hot summer day on the course, followed by an ice-cold beer. She booked a lesson for her 9-year-old granddaughter Marie, passing on a multi-generation love of the game.

She and Sue Roll, a friend from Marian, often travelled with friends John Grimes and George FitzGerald. Driving trips to Pittsburgh, or even around the Midwest, and the occasional cruise kept them tight knit for many years.

Living up to her namesake in the bible, Martha loved entertaining. Holidays were festive, and her annual St. Patrick’s Day parties were legendary – drawing Chicago friends and lasting well into the night. She loved to host Mark and his friends annually for the Indy 500, grilling brats for a big cookout afterwards.

She put her faith in action, delivering food for Meals on Wheels and volunteering for Make-a-Wish.

At 89, Martha had to move into Asbury Heights Senior Community in Pittsburgh, near Mark. She resisted giving up her treasured independence, and her fiery spirit won over many of the staff and residents at Asbury. Staff members took good care of her, including serving a watered-down glass of vodka on the rocks on demand. We are grateful for the devotion of the staff.

Martha was preceded in death by parents Daniel and Marie Brosnan; husband Robert Erickson; sons Luke, Matthew (Linda) and Jonathan Erickson; sisters Sr. Joan Brosnan O.S.U., Mary-Ellen (Frank) Gorman and Sr. Nancy Brosnan S.P. She is survived by son Mark (Cathy) Erickson of Mt. Lebanon, PA, and grandchildren Marie Erickson, Jason (Alicja) Erickson, Michael (Victoria) Erickson, Sarah (Ruchir) Erickson-Bhatt and Justin (Isaura) Erickson. She is also survived by 8 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, July 23, at 10 am in Resurrection Parish, St. Thomas More Church, 126 Fort Couch Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15241. A brief visitation will precede the Mass at the church, and the Rosary will be prayed at 9:30.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the Little Sisters of the Poor Pittsburgh would be appreciated. https://littlesistersofthepoorpittsburgh.org/donate/

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Martha B. Erickson, please visit our floral store.