Ny Martin (Nyani-Iisha for long) has passed away. Her heart stopped in the wee hours of Sunday morning March 1 at home while she was cooking. Emergency services restarted her heart but were unable to save her brain, and death was confirmed Tuesday March 3, 2026.
She was fifty years old.
Ny did not know she was sick, but tested positive for covid at the hospital. This was at least her third infection. Covid is often "asymptomatic", by which we say it lacks flu-like symptoms. In Ny's case it caused a fatal brain edema.
Covid is still circulating and still dangerous. Please remember to protect your own health and others'.
Ny was an organ donor. Her heart went to research, her liver to a woman in her 30s, her left kidney to a woman in her 70s, and her right kidney to a woman in her 40s.
Ny is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. She was sung into the earth with a wordless nigun, to the tune "Woman of Valor", among people who loved her.
There was a drop-in memorial gathering on March 15 at Cornerstone Cohousing. About a hundred people attended, and assorted Ny memorabilia -- poems and small artworks and recipes -- were distributed. Her community gathered to remember her together, talk and laugh and weep for her, and reaffirm our connections. Feeding people was a particular love of Ny's, so much was shared, and a great deal prepared according to her recipes and given to the Watertown Community Fridge.
There was an online memorial on April 12th. Chat and video can be requested from the webmaster. .
Ny's partner Josh paid the extraordinary amount it costs to cover someone dying, especially when it's important to us that they be buried somewhere we can visit on public transit. There's a GoFundMe; you are invited to contribute https://gofund.me/da67da50c.
Ny's obituary is posted here. Please note that the donations button on that page is the funeral home's preferred charities; list below reflects Ny's own causes.
obituary (local copy) eulogy by Bill Duetschler
funerary text by rabbinic pastor Matia Rania Angelou fruitcake recipes & linksJack Dempsey article about Ny's Minoan miniatures
She was a delight to all who knew her, and her memory remains a blessing.
portrait of Ny among the stars, by Sabotabby from Dreamwidth