Date of birth: 25 May 1924
Date of death: 22 Jun 2010

---

Burial Information

Section 04 (Click Here for Section Map)
Cemetery: Odd Fellows Cemetery
Plot:
Status: Occupied

---

Notes

OBITUARY

MARTHA HERBERT

MARTHA BRANDON HERBERT passed away peacefully on Tuesday the 22nd of June, 2010. She was born May 25, 1924 in Como, Mississippi to Lyon Wright Brandon and Catherine Sledge Brandon, the youngest of their two daughters. She attended boarding school at Arlington Hall in Virginia where she was elected president of the student body and valedictorian of her graduating class. At age 16, she entered Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1943, while on a double-date with her sister Catherine at an Ole Miss weekend, she met the love of her life, Francis Landsale Herbert. They married in 1944 and shortly thereafter, Francis went to Europe with the United States Infantry. Martha left Smith College in 1945, only months before receiving her degree in economics, to care for Francis who had returned to the United States after being wounded a second time in combat and being awarded two silver stars and two purple hearts. They began to raise their family and in 1949, they moved to Brazil where together they would spend the next 42 years (save for three years spent in Chicago, 1968-1970) raising their six children.

In Brazil they first lived on a ranch in the interior with relatively primitive living conditions, numerous ranch hands, and the occasional visiting jaguar. A determined Martha learned to speak Portuguese, introduced pasteurized milk to the area, had a school built for the children of the ranch hands, and enriched the local diet by putting in an extensive vegetable garden and fruit orchard. They later moved to Sao Paulo where Martha was very active in the expatriate as well as Brazilian communities. Upon Francis' retirement in 1991, Martha and Francis returned to the United States, living first in Jupiter, Florida, and finally moving to Houston in 1999.

Martha will be remembered by all who knew her for her indefatigable intellectual curiosity, her sense of humor, her boundless energy, and for being very much her own person. Her lifelong love of language and learning led her complete a Certificat pratique de langue française, 1er degré at the Alliance Francaise while living in Brazil. She also studied Portuguese and German, and most recently she set out to learn Greek, attending classes up until a few weeks before her death. She was a voracious reader, particularly of history, and many a back was strained carrying Martha's suitcases full of new books back to Brazil after a trip to the States.

Her years living outside the United States made her greatly appreciate being an American; she read several newspapers a day and avidly followed political news in both print and television media. An ardent fan of the opera, symphony and ballet, she enthusiastically attended them all upon returning to the United States. Through the years, Martha faced numerous setbacks to her health, each time with notable courage, and she found great comfort and strength in her Christian faith. She adored all of her grandchildren--in whose academic progress, activities, and personal lives she maintained an unfailing interest to the end--and they in turn adored their beloved "Grandma."Martha is preceded in death by her parents, Lyon and Catherine Brandon, her sister Catherine Williams, her son Lyon Brandon Herbert, her granddaughter Phoebe Harborough Voorhees, and her beloved husband of 60 years, Francis Lansdale Herbert.

She is survived by her children: Lansdale and Teresa Herbert, Melissa and Ted Voorhees, James Herbert, Cornelia Herbert, Daniel and Mimi Herbert, and Bill and Lynn Herbert; her grandchildren Francis and Heather Herbert, Julia and Andrew Carlson, Garrott Herbert, Daisy and Craig Bokus, Harlow and Claire Voorhees, Anna and Alexander Ramirez, Lucy Voorhees, and Jessica, Aline, Thomas, Stephanie, Olivia, Ian and Henry Herbert; and by her great-grandchildren Stella Herbert, Graham Carlson, and James and Brandon Bokus.

The family would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Gloria Bailon for all of the love and support she gave both Francis and Martha; and to Geraldine Williams and Claudia Avila for their devotion to Martha and for brightening her last year. The family would also like to thank the staff of Houston Hospice for all they did for Martha and her family during her final days.A celebration of Martha's life will be held at 3:30 in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 29th of June, in the Chapel of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston, Texas, 77019.

SOURCE: Published by Houston Chronicle on Jun. 24, 2010.

---

Family Members

Parents
Lyon Wright Brandon
1894–1979

Catherine Valiant Sledge Brandon
1898–1995

Siblings
Catherine Sledge Brandon Williams
1920–2001

Martha Lyon Brandon Herbert
1924–2010

Spouse
Francis Lansdale Herbert
1921–2004
(m. 1944)

More information, family relationships, and images may be found by CLICKING HERE (external link)

---