Avon Obituary: Martha Kalar, 69

Avon, CT - Martha Louise (Credle) Kalar, of Avon, beloved wife of Roger M. Kalar for 45 years, died on Friday, December 4, 2015.

She was born August 20, 1946 in Ithaca, NY, the youngest child of the late Alexander Berry Credle and the late Louise Tribble Credle. She attended schools in both Ithaca, NY and Poughkeepsie, NY. She graduated from Goucher College, Towson, MD in 1968 with an A.B. in Mathematics. Upon graduation, she worked in the Research and Development Lab for IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY. In 1969, she met her future husband and best friend on a blind date. Ten months later they were married, and moved to Athens, GA.

While Roger finished his MBA at the University of Georgia, Marti worked for NASA as a documentation specialist and presented a thesis at Goddard Space Agency in Greenbelt, Maryland. In 1971, they moved to CT and lived in Vernon for 5 years, and in Avon for 39 years. Marti retired from Aetna, Inc. in 1998 after 28 years of employment, much of the time working in the Corporate Telecommunications Department. Her mother gave her the gift of P.E.O. in 1968 and she belonged to Chapters AX and BN in New York, and Chapters S, D, and M in Connecticut. She served the P.E.O. Sisterhood as the current president of Chapter M; as president of Chapter D, three times; as a member of the Connecticut State Executive board for seven years, and as CT State President from 1996-97. She also served as a member of various other state P.E.O. committees and on the International P.E.O. Committee “Communications through Technology” from 2001-2003.

Marti served her community as a Girl Scout leader, as the Clerk of Council and Sunday school teacher at the Avon Congregational Church, and as a reading friend to students at Milner School in Hartford. She produced and edited newsletters for various organizations. She was honored to be a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. In addition to P.E.O., she enjoyed traveling with her husband, entertaining friends, rubber stamping, hand crafts, exercising in the town recreation class, and playing golf. She had a wonderful life and has absolutely no regrets of things left undone. She deeply loved her husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, P.E.O. sisters and many friends.

She is survived by her husband, Roger, who made ALL of her dreams come true; loving daughters Kimber Leigh (Kalar) Leuteritz, residing in Windham, NH, her husband, Eric; and Dr. Kristin Lyn (Kalar) Cresta, a physical therapist residing in Farmington, her husband Michael Cresta; and beloved grandchildren, Connor Alexander Leuteritz and Katherine Emily Leuteritz of Windham, NH.; Sofia Louise Cresta of Farmington; a sister Peg Cunningham in NJ, a brother Alex Credle and wife Shelby in NC; many dear P.E.O. sisters in Connecticut and around the country, and numerous friends.

In lieu of flowers, tax deductible memorial donations may be made out to “P.E.O. – Program for Continuing Education” with a memo of: Martha C. Kalar P.C.E. Named Grant. Please mail to: Kristin Cresta, CT State PEO Treasurer, 16 Florence Way, Farmington, CT 06032.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2016, 1 PM at Avon Congregational Church, 6 West Main Street, Avon, CT 06001.

The Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center of Avon is caring for the arrangements.