Sharon Martin Obituary

Sharon Birdette Martin

Sharon Birdette Martin (nee Athy) passed away Monday, March 16, 2026, after battling cancer.

She was born in November 1939 in Canton, the daughter of Clarence Athy and Ada (Ream) Athy. When just 5, she moved with her family to Attica, a place she always held in her heart as home.

After graduating from Attica High School, she attended Ohio University before moving to New York City, where she began a career in modeling. After moving to Columbus, and Saginaw, Michigan, she landed in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and worked as a senior administrative assistant at Analytics, Inc. She rose to the level of senior administrator, but after 10 years and another move, she opted to devote her time to raising her family.

After yet another move in the 1980s to Doylestown, Pennsylvania, she was once again pressed into administrative duties when her late husband, Sydney F. Martin, opened a business called Sytex, Inc. She was responsible for all administrative functions and served as treasurer. Eventually, the company grew to employ more than 3,000 people, and her work and dedication to the group were something she was proud of.

She also took pleasure in philanthropic efforts to advance the Doylestown community, where she volunteered for and donated to dozens of local non-profit organizations and served on the boards of Bucks County Bank and the Doylestown Historical Society.

This list of accomplishments doesn't do her life justice; it doesn't convey how much she loved reading (Dorothy Parker was a fave), the pasta sauce recipe she perfected and served at large family gatherings, or the pieces of art that made her imagine a different world. They don't share how fierce she was as a single mother, her love of crystals' energy, or her joy when playing Enya at top volume. Or that she could get out any, really, any stain from clothing, or the way she folded every item just so. They don't capture her tone when squawking "Syd!" – which happened often, especially when he was driving. They don't convey her sense of playfulness with her ride-or-die Peggy, or the incredible times (and several scrapes) she shared with her sister when they lived as two young women in the city. Or how, decades later, she would sit poolside and score children's dives for hours, or how she was proud of her Celtic ancestry and loved Glenfiddich. They don't convey the attention she took when playing Chopin on the piano or that she could, on any given day before arthritis set in, type more than 100 words per minute with no mistakes. They don't share how she remained mad until her dying day about losing the bet with Syd that there were no tigers in Ireland. (He said: at the zoo.) Or, maybe one of the most important things: that she was not afraid to die, as she said, she had done it once before, while in the hospital as a young woman, and it had been wonderful. What made her special: her soul.

She will be missed, especially by the family she and Syd shared, Kevin Sylvester; Daniel S. Martin and wife, Bria; Jessica Thompson and husband, Mark; and Dr. James F. Martin and wife, Amy-Beth; and grandchildren, Landis, Turner, Graeme, Nyla, Asher, Wyatt, and Cody. She is also survived by her sister, Veneta Heabler; and brothers, Clarence and Paul Athy.

A private burial will be at a later date. Those wishing to make memorial contributions are asked to consider donating to a local food bank or a women's shelter.