Martha L. Culp

Martha (Marty) Louise (Gorte) Culp passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loved ones at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 28th .
Marty was born on August 15th, 1933 in Owosso Michigan to Christian and Mathilda Gorte. She married Wendell “Windy” Culp on August 30th, 1953. Wendell survives along with their four children, Christine (David) Lewis, Patrick (Margi) Culp, Lisa (Brian) Byrn and Craig (Bruce Broughton) Culp, three grandchildren, Joshua (Angie) Miller, Anne Lewis, and Kathleen Lewis as well as one great-grandchild, Charlie Miller.
She was predeceased by her parents, sisters Marie Colando and Jeanette Harkema as well as her brother Bruce Gorte.

She attended Michigan State University and Elkhart Business University and was employed by Elkhart General Hospital as a medical transcriptionist. In 1983, Marty and Windy moved to Albemarle, North Carolina where she was a founding member of and Executive Secretary to the Bank of Stanly. They returned to Elkhart in 1988 and soon after Marty volunteered as a docent at the Midwest Museum of American Art. In 1989, she was invited to join the staff as the Administrative Assistant, retired in 2003 and continued to serve on the museum’s Advisory Board. Marty was also active in the League of Women Voters and the Frontier Club. Marty was an active and longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Elkhart and served on the school building committee and volunteered with the Lutheran Braille Workers.

Family and friends may call from 3-7 pm Monday Dec. 30th at Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral & Cremation Center, and an hour prior to the memorial service at which will begin at 11 am Tuesday, Dec. 31st at Trinity Lutheran Church. Pastor Christopher Davis will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to the Midwest Museum of American Art, the Center for Hospice Care, and the Trinity Lutheran Church for a future memorial garden. Online condolences may be sent to www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com.