Martha Drake Hodge

Martha Drake Hodge, of Birmingham, Michigan, passed away on March 10,

2023, after a short illness. She was 82.

Martha was born and grew up at Lake Angelus, and majored in biology at

the University of Michigan, where she later obtained a masters in

botany. In her 20s, Martha lived in England, and traveled widely in

Europe, from Norway to Finland to Russia. She later worked in the

Troy, MI headquarters of Kmart, and subsequently served in the City of

Birmingham Clerk’s office, where she was a dedicated Election Precinct

Manager for many years.

Martha took joy in the theater as part of the Birmingham Village

Players, and was an avid gardener and tennis player. Her lifelong

intellectual curiosity led her to courses at the University of

Washington, at the Woods Hole marine biology lab, to Oslo studying

Norwegian history, literature and politics, and to London for studies

in British history and culture. After retirement, she joined

discussion groups like Learning in Retirement at the Birmingham public

library and the local Socrates Cafe. She also went on Elderhostel

outings around the States.

Martha was a member of All Saints' Episcopal Church and Christ Church Cranbrook.

Family and friends were important to Martha. She was fascinated with

the history of her ancestors and the communities they inhabited,

especially Lake Angelus. She will be missed by her first cousins

Rosalie Lake and Catherine O’Connell; Rosalie’s children Alexander

Beebe, Miranda Beebe, Lucian Beebe and Nina Beebe; along with her

second cousins Juliet Drake, Jonathan Drake, John Drake and Paul

Drake.

Martha’s family will hold a private memorial in the summer. Donations

in her memory can be made to the Baldwin Public Library (300 W.

Merrill St., Birmingham, MI 48009) at

www.baldwinlib.org/naming-rights