Martha H. Siccardi

PETERSHAM - Martha Helene (Funk) Siccardi died on September 14, 2007, of natural causes, while boating along the Chesapeake Bay. Mrs. Siccardi was born on October 29, 1929, the day of the Great Crash, to Sheldon W. Funk and Dorothy (Eidell) Funk. She was a direct descendant of German Lutherans who migrated to America in 1719, to escape religious persecution. The family eventually settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania and her early years were spent in the farming community of Boyertown, where her father operated Funk Fruit Farms. Graduating from Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she followed her older brother, John H. Funk, an alumnus of Harvard University, to the Boston area. Mrs. Siccardi received a B.A. from Radcliffe College in 1951. She met her husband, Barthelemy Louis, a native of France, when he served as an officer on the cruise ship Stella Polaris. They were married for forty-two years, until his death in 1996. Mrs. Siccardi had a very successful career in sales with Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, and as an accountant for the Greenwich Country Club in Connecticut. As a teenager, a neighbor, General Carl A. Spaatz, inspired her to join the U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). She clung to her tomboy upbringing throughout her life. Her innate sense of fun could be unconventional: she occasionally practiced archery, shot skeet or climbed trees, in high heels, and celebrated her sixtieth birthday by riding in a 1929 Stearman biplane. In Petersham, she could frequently be spotted driving her vintage convertible. Ever inquisitive, Mrs. Siccardi traveled extensively with her family. For the last two decades, she attended seminars at Dartmouth College. She is survived by her daughter, Lizanne D. Siccardi, of Arlington, Virginia and her sister-in-law, Jane Cole Funk, of Reading, PA. Her beloved brother, John, died earlier this year. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, October 14th at 2:00 p.m., at the Orthodox Congregational Church, 21 North Main Street, in Petersham. There will be a reception at Winterwood Bed & Breakfast, 19 North Main Street from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be made to: Salem Academy, 500 Salem Avenue, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, or the Bosler Humane Society, P.O. Box 12 in Baldwinville, MA 01436. For more information or to sign our online guest book, please visit www.fiskefuneralhome.com. Fiske Funeral Home, 1356 Main St., Athol is directing arrangements. $(document).ready(function(){ });