Martha Cook Batchelder

Martha Cook Batchelder, beloved wife of the late Richard David Batchelder (“Batch”), died peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of March 7, 2025, at her home in North Chatham.  Martha Hall Cook was born in Boston on December 8, 1931, and grew up in Jamaica Plain.  Her father, John Frederick Cook, was a schoolteacher, and her mother, Maud Muller Turcott, was a homemaker.  As a child of the Great Depression, Martha learned how to persevere through any adversity, and her full life of 93 years is testament to her indomitable spirit and faith.
Martha graduated from the all-girls High School of Practical Arts in Boston in 1949.  Like most young women of her day, she went to work rather than further her education, but friends encouraged her to go to college.  Martha enrolled at Bridgewater State Teachers College (now Bridgewater State University), graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1955.  She was offered a teaching job on the Cape but had to choose between Chatham and Harwich.  In a decision that would shape the rest of her life, she opted for Chatham.  For two years, she taught physical education and coached both the Girls’ Varsity Field Hockey and Basketball teams.  On her very first day at Chatham High School, she met Batch, another young teacher, who had joined the faculty in 1949.  The two soon began dating, and were married on December 23, 1955, in Chatham.  Martha and Batch had been happily married for more than 57 years when Batch died in 2013.
Martha and Batch moved to Newton in 1957 and started a family the following year.  Martha was always there to support Batch’s career as an educator, which included a term as President of the National Education Association, and stints in California and Florida.  They raised three children, and spent parts of every summer in Chatham, which the family has always considered home.  When Martha and Batch decided to return to Chatham full time, Martha went back to teaching, this time as a fourth-grade teacher at Chatham Elementary School.  Martha taught there for 14 years before retiring in 1999.
Martha enjoyed volunteering for several organizations in Chatham, including serving on the Board of Directors of Monomoy Community Services and the Friends of Monomoy Theatre.  She also served on the Chatham Democratic Party Town Committee and was a member of the Altar Guild at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, where she also worked in the thrift shop.  She shared her love of theatre with her husband Batch and most recently attended a play on her 93rd birthday at the Chatham Drama Guild, where Batch first performed as an actor nearly 75 years earlier.
Martha’s favorite summer pastime was sailing her Day Sailer, Batch Button, which the family purchased in 1973 and still owns.  Martha became a fixture at Stage Harbor Yacht Club, which the family joined in 1968, and served terms as Secretary and Rear Commodore.  She also served as President of Stage Harbor Sailing School and was Chair of the Scholarship Committee for many years, which helped provide free lessons to students from Chatham and Harwich.  Martha twice received the Club’s highest award, the F. Spaulding Dunbar Trophy, and was awarded Honorary Membership in 2009.  Martha was a great competitor, and she still holds the record for winning the Club’s Ladies’ Series 15 times.
Martha is predeceased by her husband, her brothers Robert Foster Cook and Douglas Chipman Cook, and her sisters Isabella Mary Cook and Nancy Jane Cook Sievers.  She is survived by her three children and their spouses, Anne Elizabeth Batchelder (R. Craige Winn), Amy Batchelder Harris (Richard P. Harris), and Richard D. Batchelder, Jr. (Peggy), five grandchildren, Nathan Smith Batchelder (Ashley), David Charles Harris, Suzanne Rose Harris, Edward Felix Batchelder, and William Richard Batchelder, and one great-grandchild, Catherine Anne Batchelder.
Funeral services will be private, with burial to follow at Union Cemetery.  A celebration of Martha’s life will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, June 20, 2025, at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, Chatham.  In lieu of flowers, donations in Martha’s memory may be made to the Richard D. and Martha C. Batchelder Memorial Scholarship Fund, which benefits graduating seniors at Monomoy Regional High School, care of Monomoy Dollars for Scholars (online at monomoy.dollarsforscholars.org or by mail, P.O. Box 244, North Chatham, MA 02650).