Martha Kirkley

Martha attended the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1967 with a BA in English.

Martha left Mississippi and moved to San Francisco.  There, she worked in retailing and banking prior to attending graduate school at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California, where she earned her Masters degree in counseling, specializing in adolescent sexuality.

Martha was a founder of St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Upland and served on the school board and vestry of St.Mark’s Episcopal Church.  She also volunteered her time to St. Mark’s Homeless Shelter in Upland.  Martha served as a member of the Foothill Philharmonic Association, a support group for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.  She also directed the Symphonies for Youth Program in Claremont, Upland, and Rancho Cucamonga.

Martha returned to Columbus, Mississippi, with her family in 1992.  She managed her family’s company, Columbus TV Cable Corporation, until the business was sold to the Washington Post Company in 1996.  In Columbus Martha has served on the Heritage Academy school board, as President of the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus, and as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

She serves on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, has taught Sunday School, and facilitated Disciples of Christ in the Community, a spiritual growth group.  Martha is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the National Alumni Association for the University of Mississippi, and is a member of the Columbus-Lowndes Foundation Board, and Daughters of the King.

Martha's stories of volunteering at a Katrina relief center have been published in KATRINA:MISSISSIPPI WOMEN REMEMBER, a book of photography and memories to benefit the Mississippi Committee of the National Museum for Women in the Arts.