Martha Main

Martha Lane Hughes Main, 81, of Narragansett, Rhode Island, died March 7 at her home following a courageous and hard-fought battle with renal cell carcinoma.

Born on New Year’s Eve 1942, Martha was one of 10 children of the late Anna Jennie Sanders Hughes and Francis Marion Hughes. She was raised in Hopkinton and was a 1960 graduate of Hopkinton High School.

Martha was a proud mother of five children, and as they grew, she began her journey toward becoming a nurse. She began her education at Assabet Vocational School, first earning her LPN. While working and raising her family, she continued her education and earned her BSN from the University of New York Regents College in 1986 and later her Master of Science in nursing from Anna Maria College in 1992.

Martha was keen on education and started her career in nursing education in 1992 at Rhode Island College. She spent over 10 years as the director of nursing at Landmark Medical Center and then transitioned to full-time professor and later program director at Becker College School of Nursing.

In 2003, Martha began working for South County Hospital, where she remained on staff until the day of her diagnosis.

Martha was a brilliant and extraordinary educator. She taught countless new nurses and enjoyed the many years of clinical she instructed. Her experience even led to her being selected to assist in NCLEX question writing, which she looked forward to every year.

Beyond her working career, Martha was a world traveler. She visited every continent in the world and loved sharing the stories of her extensive travels with friends and family.

Martha found great enjoyment in the outdoors and was an avid hiker. She successfully hiked the 48 4,000-footers of New Hampshire and the 100 highest peaks in New England. Additionally, Martha, or Ocean Hiker as her trail family called her, successfully section-hiked nearly all of the Appalachian Trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine.

Gardening and tending to her beautiful yard came easily to Martha. She loved flowers, the change of the seasons that New England provided to her, and always keeping busy. Summers were spent shopping for bargains at every yard sale she came across, digging for fresh quahogs and opening her home for beach visits and good food. Winters included annual visits to Aruba, while the spring and fall were saved for her hiking adventures, planting and harvesting.

Martha’s wisdom and brilliance was strengthened by her love of learning. From a trip to the library, to reading a good story or taking every opportunity presented to further her education, she valued knowledge and often shared that “education will set you free.”

A wonderful mother, Martha was an even better Grammie to her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She cherished the time she spent with her family and loved the countless sleepovers she shared with her grandkids. She was generous and ensured her family always had all they could ever need. Her generosity extended especially to celebrating birthdays, and she had a way of making you feel so loved and cherished.

Martha is survived by her five children, Mary Martha Bove, Michael Ball, Patrick Ball, Cynthia Channing and Patricia Shaw, her seven grandchildren, Chrystle “Chrys” Jackson-Ball, Anna Coburn, Jacqueline Channing, Caroline “Queenie” Sullivan, Karlie Bove, Abigail Ball and Samuel Cahill, and her four great-grandchildren, Aria, Ava, Aiden and Bridget. Additionally, Martha leaves her companion and their dog, Brownie, her seven siblings to include her sister, Lydia Sheahan, and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Martha was predeceased by her husband and the love of her life, Julian Harris Main, and two brothers, Thomas J. Hughes and Alfred Hughes. Martha was the former wife of the late Clayton Richard Shaw and the late Nicholas Maclean Ball.

Martha will be greatly missed by her friends and co-workers from Frost 2 at South County Hospital who all were involved in her care over the last few months.

Per Martha’s request, all are welcome to attend a garden party in her honor. It will be celebrated at her home on Saturday, May 25, beginning at noon. For questions or directions, call the Devanny-Condron Funeral Home at 413-445-5988.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Martha’s Memory may be made payable to The Salvation Army and mailed to the Devanny-Condron Funeral Home, 40 Maplewood Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 01201.

Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.