Martha M. Bridy, 79, Sunbury, passed away at Geisinger Hospital, Danville on Thursday, January 30, on to her Heavenly reward.

She was born on December 27, 1945, along with her beloved twin sister, Anne M. Bridy, at Geisinger Hospital, Danville, to the late Frances M. and Jacob D. Bridy of Mount Carmel.

Early in life, Martha suffered an unfortunate accidental fall injuring her head, resulting in periodic seizures and a moderate level of intellectual disability. Nonetheless, Martha was included in all family activities, and with her mother Fran as her guide and her sister Anne as her guardian, Martha grew up feeling normal, equal, accepted, and deserving. She developed a positive foundational identity of quietly expecting her needs to be met which carried her through life.

The twins were visibly popular at school and in the community, in part because they wore colorful matching outfits and dresses lovingly sewn by their mother, Fran, and grandmother, Martha. In due course, Anne and Martha both completed parochial school at St. Peter's. Anne continued to high school and Martha was enrolled at Elwyn Institute, a life skills training center for individuals with disabilities, located near Philadelphia. She enjoyed her years at Elwyn, where she was able to experience, with her parents, weekend visits to the nearby homes of her uncles Bob and Charles, as well as attend Phillies games and visit the wonderful Philadelphia Zoo.

While at Elwyn Martha was able to learn basic skills such as personal hygiene, caring for one's clothing and room as well as participating in games, crafts, hobbies, and music. After completing her training she returned to central PA, living in social worker-managed group homes in Milton before eventually settling into her own apartment at Chestnut Towers, Sunbury. Martha was a beloved guest at the nearby Chestnut Street Deli, where she became a popular regular for breakfast and lunch. She also took great joy in doing word and jigsaw puzzles, reading stories about dogs, cats, and rabbits, perusing People magazine, TV Guide, and Reader's Digest, and watching shows like Wheel of Fortune, America's Got Talent, The Voice, as well as the Grammy and Academy Awards ceremonies, and both the summer and winter Olympic Games.

Martha was also fortunate to have Tina Eisenhart as her Keystone Human Services manager who arranged social workers to help transport Martha to medical appointments, movies, high school musicals, museums, frequent trips to Knoebels and annual trips to skating shows.

During her mid-life years, Martha was employed part-time on disability-related work projects at SUNCOM, Northumberland.

In November 2008, Martha's mother, Frances Bridy, passed away. At this same time, Martha's brother, James retired as a Federal Contractor Data Analyst and returned to Mount Carmel. He assumed power of attorney for Martha's medical and financial matters and coordinated with Keystone to manage tasks like Martha's shopping and some of her entertainment venues. He also prepared tasty vegetable meals for Martha to microwave in her apartment.

With respect to travel, Martha could now come home to Mount Carmel during holiday weekends as well as taking occasional trips to Pittsburgh, to visit their brother, Dan and sister-in-law, Lorraine.

In the fall of 2015, Martha underwent knee replacement surgery and entered Manor Care Nursing Home (now known as Sunbury Skilled Nursing) for rehabilitation. However, complications arose due to an infection that developed above the knee replacement, and Martha had to close her apartment and remain under long-term care for the next 9.5 years, until her passing. Doctors advised that amputating her leg would have been too risky.

Meanwhile, in September 2015, Martha's twin sister, Anne M. Swett, retired from her job at Joanne Fabrics and Crafts in Sanford, FL, and moved to Sunbury to be with Martha, whom she visited daily. Eventually, Martha became wheelchair-bound and stabilized and the two sisters spent many enjoyable hours doing word puzzles, coloring in art books, working on jigsaw puzzles, decorating Martha's room, sending and receiving greeting cards, and relaxing on sunny days in the garden gazebo.

While at the Sunbury Skilled Nursing Home, Martha took joy in attending weekly Catholic services at St. Monica's Church, and attending movies, Bingo games, monthly in-room rescue dog visits, special holiday meals and parties, and the annual summer picnics at the Marina.

Martha is survived by a brother, James J. Bridy of Mount Carmel, and a sister-in-law, Lorraine Bridy of Pittsburgh. In addition to her parents, Martha was preceded in death by a brother, Daniel F. Bridy, and her twin sister, Anne M. Swett. In retrospect, one can observe how closely Martha and Anne were emotionally and spiritually bonded by the simple fact that both passed away on the same day, January 30, but in different years — Anne in 2023. One could say "The Bridy twins — together at the beginning and the end — much more than lifelong friends!"