Obituary: Martha N. Hickman, Bardstown

Martha N. Hickman, Bardstown, died Sunday, June 7, 2020. She was born in Winchester to the late Mary Frances and Walter J. Newell Sr. She was an educator for many years and taught in several school systems. She began her career in West Point, Miss. during the early 1960’s. After settling in the Bardstown area, she worked for the Nelson County Board of Education as a teacher at New Haven Elementary and Foster Heights Elementary Schools. After her retirement in 1985, she worked as a teller for Farmers Bank and Trust and a training coordinator for the Cabinet for Workforce Development.

She was very involved in her community and was currently working with the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association, Nelson County Retired Teachers Association, Bardstown-Nelson County Democratic Women’s Club, and AARP) She was a dedicated member of St. Monica Catholic Church where she served as a lector, eucharistic minister, adorer at St. Joseph and was active in the St. Joseph/St. Monica Jail Ministry. She also served the larger church community through her appointment as an associate with the Sisters of Charity at Nazareth.

Some of the former organizations she was associated with were the Bardstown-Nelson Human Rights Commission, International Association of Employment Security (national, state, and district level), Nazareth Campus Service Board of Directors, Flaget Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, Kentucky Standard Readers Advisory Board, Bardstown/Nelson County Inter-Agency, Bardstown/Nelson County Adult Center Advisory Council, Nelson County Bicentennial Committee (1976), and the Nelson County Black Appreciation Committee. She also assisted with the election campaigns of Dr. Harry Spalding, state Rep. Kenny Rapier, Dr. Harvey Sloan, and Judge Larry Raikes.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Cornelius Hickman Sr.; one son, Jerry Baker; two sisters, Alvinia Newell and Teresa Jones; and one brother, William Newell.

She is survived by two daughters, Bonita (Cathie) Hickman and Cora (Ricky) Lugo; one son, Greg (Monica) Hickman; four sisters, Cora Withrow Fletcher, Anna Willis, Dorothy Bankston, and Beatrice Newell; two brothers, Walter (Myra) Newell, and Robert (Mary) Newell; two grandchildren, Shaina Lugo and Elijah Lugo; several great-grandchildren; and many family members, friends, and the members of St. Monica Catholic Church.

The Mass of Christian burial is 11 a.m. Friday, June 12, 2020, at St. Monica Catholic Church with the Rev. Jason Harris officiating. Burial is in the Bardstown Cemeter.

Visitation is 4-7 p.m. Thursday, June 11, 2020 with evening prayers, and after 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home.

The Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

-30-