Watertown High School Mourns Long Time Sub

A long-time subsitute teacher who made an impact on students at Watertown High School passed away on Dec. 16.

Martha Fitzpatrick, 73, could be seen around the high school in the classroom and at events, said Head Master Steven Watson. After retiring as a teacher in Watertown and then Waltham, she substituted for about a decade, and she made an impact on her students.

"She was here on almost a daily for a while," Watson said. "She got to know the students and remembered their stories."

Fitzpatrick could also be seen at events at the high school and chaperoned buses to games and other events, said Athletic Director Michael Lahiff.

For those students who she got to know best Fitzpatrick would sometimes make afghan blankets when they got into college, Watson said.

"She would make them in the college's colors," Watson said.

During the week before winter break, students at the high school dedicated the Toys for Tots drive to Fitzpatrick, Watson said. A moment of silence was observed for Fitzpatrick before both the girls' and boys' basketball games on Dec. 23.

She also was a long-time member of the Waltham Historical Society and served as the unofficial historian for St. Jude Parish in Waltham, according to the obituary from Joyce Funeral home.

Services were held on Dec. 20, and she was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Waltham on Dec. 21.