CLAYTON, NY —Â Martha L. Heffernan, 78, Clayton, passed away Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
Born March 28, 1942, in Boston, MA, the daughter of William and Martha Ackerman, she was raised by her grandparents, John and Anna Johnson, fondly known as Gramps and Grammy, Clayton, NY. She attended Immaculate Heart Academy, Watertown, and Clayton Central School, Clayton.
Marty, as known to her friends, married Robert S. Heffernan on July 20, 1959, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and resided in Clayton, where they raised four children and spent an enormous part of their lives enjoying all of the beautiful offerings of the St. Lawrence River.
Marty was a wonderful role-model and champion for her children. She took great pride in her work and exhibited a great work ethic in all that she did. Over the years, she worked at the Clayton Big M, B&D Market, Gray’s Wholesale, Graphic Controls, the Victorian, and the Cape Vincent Correctional Facility before retiring in 1997. She enjoyed volunteering and spent many years supporting Clayton Minor Hockey as general manager and scheduler, a job that she loved.
She was a former member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 821, Knights of Columbus, Red Hat Society, and a communicant of St. Mary’s Church.
Marty loved to cook and entertain. She was an avid shopper, reader, a strategic card player, and a lover of animals.
Along with her husband, Bob, she is survived by her daughter Tami Scott (Cathedral City, CA) and her son Ryan Scott and his wife, Kat Nguyen (Santa Rosa, CA); her daughter Kelli Ligeikis, her husband David (Binghamton, NY and Clayton, NY), and their sons Connor (Ann Arbor, MI) and Clayton (Binghamton, NY); her son Shawn Heffernan (Columbia, SC); and her daughter Heidi  Locastro, her husband Scott, and their children Nicholas and Camryn (Catonsville, MD).
Marty was a kind and generous soul and had a great love for the River; however, due to a life-altering stroke in 2013, she spent the last seven years of her life in a nursing home in Murrells Inlet, SC, a place where Bob and Marty spent the winter months beginning in 1999. Her final wish was that she return to her lifelong home in Clayton, NY.
A graveside service for immediate family members will be held in Clayton at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Marty has returned home to the River and will be laid to rest in her eternal resting place near her Gramps and Grammy.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to St. Jude, the ASPCA, or the Humane Society.
Arrangements are entrusted with Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Clayton.
Online condolences may be posted at www.cummingsfuneral.com