Marta Apy Elders of Rowayton passed away peacefully on May 7, 2022 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was 78.
Marta Elders, 78, passed away May 7. A gathering to celebrate her life will be held on June 26.
Marta was born Oct. 3, 1943 in Stamford to the late Martin and Joan Apy of New Canaan. She graduated from New Canaan High School in 1961 and was the secretary of her class.
She went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Skidmore College in 1965 and later that year married her high school sweetheart, David Elders. They raised two sons, Matt and Brad, in Darien.
During this time, she was actively involved in A Better Chance, Center for Hope and Safe Rides. Marta then went on to get her Ph.D. with honors in philosophy and clinical psychology from the Teachers College at Columbia University and practiced her passion until she left us.
She is a past chairperson of the Marion Woodman Foundation and a graduate of the BodySoul Rhythms Leadership Training Program created and led by Marion Woodman, Ann Skinner and Mary Hamilton.
Her spiritual journey is informed, guided and grounded in her study of The Urantia Book, which she and her late husband, David, were committed to for the last 50 years. It is their ground of being and has provided a vision of their next steps in an eternal journey.
Marta was a charter and founding member of the Connecticut Society of the Urantia Brotherhood and has served in numerous capacities over the years, including as an associate trustee of the Urantia Foundation, as well as a teacher facilitator for the Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS).
It wasn’t what she did but how she lived that defined Marta’s life. She could light up a room with her warmth, graceful beauty and smile and had a timeless sense of style. She collected and nurtured many meaningful friendships all over the world and completely and unequivocally lived her truth.
Also known as “Jojo” to her five grandchildren, she was a constant presence in their lives engaging in their personal journeys whether it be their sports, academics or their spiritual paths. According to them, Jojo also had a pretty lit emoji game.
She adored her family and her grandchildren endlessly, always wrapping each of them individually in a warm blanket of love and beaming with pride watching them grow and explore all the beauty, love and goodness that exists in this world.
Perhaps her greatest gift was to guide countless people through the most difficult times in their lives. She helped them to see light when all they could see was darkness. She taught them to be able to give and receive love when they didn’t think it was possible.
If the definition of a “life well lived” is to give more than you take, to adore and be adored by your family and friends, to leave nothing unsaid and to have no regrets when your earthly journey ends and your spiritual journey begins, this truly was an exceptional life.
Marta is survived by her two sons and their families: Matt and Christine, sons Jack and Luke of Tiburon, California; and Brad and Karen, children Cameron, Katie, and Aidan of Darien; and her sister, Debbie Odell of Larkspur, Colorado.
She is predeceased by her husband ,David Elders; her parents, Martin and Joan Apy of New Canaan; and her brother, Mike Apy of Hilton Head, South Carolina.
A gathering to celebrate the life of Marta will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, June 26, 2022 at Wee Burn Country Club, 410 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, Darien.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Voices of Children, Ukrainian based nonprofit that provides psychological and psychosocial support to children suffering from the effects of the war in Ukraine.
— an obituary from Hoyt Funeral Home, where online condolences may be left