Wren Funeral Home

We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

Martha was born Dec. 8, 1929, in Elizabeth City and was raised in her beloved Hampton, graduating from Hampton High school in 1947.During her youth, she and her friends engaged in many lively adventures in Hampton some of which will now remain untold. Martha continued her education at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, where, despite the strict rules and housemothers, she found ways to escape campus with her friends and make their own brand of fun.Along the way, she met John Sim, her husband of nearly 65 years. She graduated from Mary Washington with a B.A. in Education in June of 1951. Soon after her graduation from college, Martha and John were married at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Hampton. John was the perfect match for Martha’s vivacity, and they faced life together with gusto, bringing energy and fun wherever they went. They began married life in Atlanta, where she started her teaching career. They later moved to Richmond, where she taught English at both Hermitage and Collegiate high schools and started their family with the arrival of their first two children.The tug of Hampton was great and she and John returned there in 1960 reuniting with old friends and making new ones. Much to Martha’s chagrin, she moved to York County a couple of years later at John’s insistence where they welcomed their second two children to complete their family. She settled into the Marlbank community making it her home for more than 55 years until her passing.Martha was an active volunteer in the Junior League of Hampton Roads and was on the founding board of the Junior Nature Museum and Planetarium, now the Virginia Living Museum. She was a member of Grace Episcopal Church Yorktown, where she taught Sunday School and worked on the capital campaign to expand the church facilities. Martha restarted her career in the 1970s at the York County Library, where she worked for several years.Martha was an engaging, entertaining and active person who loved to travel and stay on the move. She enjoyed skiing and playing golf as often as s...