Martha E. Fields

Martha Elizabeth (Moore) Fields, a remarkable woman of many passions, passed away peacefully on December 25, 2025 after a long illness. She was born 14 March 1941, the daughter of the late Lawrence E. Moore, Sr and Martha Rebecca (Margaret) Jenrette Moore.

Martha was a beach bum. Born in Conway, South Carolina, she grew up enjoying the Grand Strand’s sun and sand as well as the bounty of the sea. She and her older brother Lawrence caught crabs and shrimp for dinner as children. As an adult, the plough mud still ran in her veins, and on family beach vacations Martha would shout from shore at the hopelessly mud-bound crew dragging the shrimp seine through the shallows to “RUN!” lest they lose a prize flounder caught in the bag of the net.

Martha was an educator and mentor. She was Salutatorian of her class at Conway High School and went on to earn an undergraduate degree at Erskine College and a master’s degree at the University of South Carolina. She then spent the bulk of her career teaching math in Fairfax County schools, first to kids, and later as a math specialist supervising math teachers across the school district. She loved the logic and sense of math, excelled at puzzles of all kinds, and transmitted her enthusiasm for mathematics to countless children.

Martha was a world traveller. She went to Cuba before the Revolution, and to Africa to see the big game in the 1970s. After meeting and marrying the love of her life, Jim Fields, they travelled to Europe. For their retirement, they went on a round-the-world trip together. She dipped her toes in every ocean (including at the poles!), and visited every continent, reveling in learning about different cultures and making friends wherever she went.

Martha was a safe harbor and hostess on a grand scale. Her niece and nephew, Kathy and Eddy, left SC to go to college in New England, so Martha decided to host Thanksgiving at the midway point between the kids and their parents. She took in other strays as well–Kathy and Eddy’s friends, locals with no nearby family, foreign-born students who had no Thanksgiving tradition and couldn’t make the distant trek home. It was common for her and Jim to host 30 to 40 people at Thanksgiving, setting up four or five tables, each bedecked with matching china and stemware.

Martha was a mother. Many young people in transition stayed with her for weeks or months as they found their footing. Every Christmas, they hosted a Santa party for their friends’ kids, entertaining more than one generation with Jim’s portrayal of Santa Claus. In retirement, she and Jim volunteered with the Future Leaders Exchange program, a US State Department-sponsored foreign exchange program for high schoolers. They read students’ applications to come to the US for a year, chaperoned trips to pick kids up from Eastern Europe, and hosted four exchange students themselves: Vasily from Ukraine, Nurhamet from Turkmenistan, Pato from Chile, and Marzia from Afghanistan. They threw themselves into parenting each student through their transition into the US culture and school system. Marzia, arriving in the US after the Taliban denied her (and all Afghan girls) years of schooling, benefited most from Martha and Jim’s wide network of educator friends, who tutored her up to speed. Marzia returned to Afghanistan for two years as the exchange program required, but then came back to the US to

attend college. It was not safe for her or her family for Marzia to return to Afghanistan again, so she moved in with Martha and Jim, who have also welcomed Marzia’s mother, sisters, and nieces into their family. In addition to the aforementioned countries, Martha and Jim have “kids” in Canada, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, and Bulgaria.

Martha was an athlete and avid sports fan. She played basketball and tennis in high school, and had a lifelong friendship with her coaches (the late Jewel Carmichael and Isla Mae Allen). She was an avid golfer, often beating men in her party with accurate drives. She and Jim golfed along the South Carolina coast, in the DC area, and during annual trips to New Hampshire. She and Jim were huge fans of the team now known as the Washington Commanders, holding season tickets for many years and attending elaborate tailgates. Martha also enjoyed board and card games, and hosted a regular bridge game for many years.

Martha lived an outgoing, social life to the fullest. She gave generously and improved all the lives around her. She and Jim were the ultimate hosts, friends, and family members, and she leaves behind a huge network of people who will continue her traditions and always remember her mischievous smile, infectious laugh, and generous spirit.