Martha lived in Squirrel Hill for many years and was very active in charitable giving during her lifetime. She died December 31, 1986, at the age of 86.
She graduated from the Miss Master's School at Dobbs Ferry. She was also a Trustee of the Eye & Ear Hospital and a longtime member of the Women's Committee at Children's Hospital and Shadyside Presbyterian Church.
After the death of her first husband, John M. Lazear in 1957, Martha created a charitable fund, giving away more than $2.5 million to 100 different charities. In 1981, this fund was transferred to The Pittsburgh Foundation and renamed the Nelson Adult Blind Fund in honor of her second husband, Dr. Lyle Nelson, a physician of 50 years specializing in internal medicine and cardiology.
The following year, she established this fund in her name with preference given to charities that she supported during her lifetime. Through the years it has assisted: Baby Steps program for handicapped infants; Beginning with Books, a program for disadvantaged children; Neighborhood-based Literacy Tutoring Project, a business incubator facility in McKeesport, and JOBSTART, a program that assists high school dropouts.
Type of Fund
- Unrestricted