Martha Sue Todd
Published 10:47 am Friday, March 17, 2017
HENDERSON, NC – Martha Sue Todd was born to Reverend and Mrs. I.T. Stroud at Albertson in Duplin County, N.C. the third of nine children. She was educated in the public schools.
After graduation, she commenced her higher education at Campbell College, then a two-year institution, continuing her undergraduate degree studies at East Carolina Teachers College, known as ECTC, completing her Bachelor of Arts in Education. She taught in the Pitt County school system.
In 1944 she met and married the love of her life, Carl Glenn Todd. She taught elementary school in Montgomery Alabama, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Bertie County N.C. She completed the requirements to gain Certification as a Speech Therapist, while competing her Master’s Degree in Education from East Carolina College. She completed her tenure with Bertie County School as an Elementary Supervisor.
After retirement, she was asked to join the faculty of Wesleyan College where she taught aspiring teachers in the Education Department until her husband’s health required her to become his caregiver. After his passing, she traveled to Nogales, Arizona where she taught the Yaqui Indians and raised the needed funds to complete a church for the Christian populace in Nogales Mexico. Upon her return to Bertie County and while participating in a continuous 24-hour World Day of Prayer event at Ross Church, a breeze blew the pages of a hymnal open to the song, “Here Am I Lord.” She recognized this as the call for her next adventure which took her to the People’s Republic of China; first to Nanjing and later to Fuzhou where she taught English in the Universities and, when asked, her love of Jesus Christ. Her stint in the PRC spanned twelve years whereupon she returned to Campbell University and resided in faculty housing at the behest of Dr. Norman Wiggins, then President of the University.
In 2012 she moved to Oxford N.C. be nearer family. She was always active in the Baptist faith and was ever ready to share her beliefs with anyone within earshot.
She leaves behind one son Carl Glenn Jr.; two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren; two sisters; one brother; and a host of nieces and nephews. Her extended family crossed many nations and multiple cultures all of which she regarded as God’s Own.
Per her request, there will be a Celebration Memorializing her life of 96 years at Ross Baptist Church, 1020 Bull Hill Road, Windsor, NC on Saturday March 25, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Glenn Todd, c/o Fidelity Bank 1537 Dabney Drive Henderson N.C. 27536 for the expressed purpose of support for The Blind Children’s School Fuzhou, China.