Martha Crosier Wood died peacefully on May 16, 2026, at her home in Lexington, Massachusetts with her husband, Jim, at her side. She was 88. Martha had lived in Lexington since 1968, where she served as a leader in her community for half a century.
Born December 29, 1937, in Emporia, Kansas, Martha earned her degree from the University of Kansas School of Journalism in 1959. Upon graduation, she worked as a journalist for the Topeka Daily Capital and State Journal. She and Jim moved to Massachusetts in 1965, and she went on to work in communications and public relations at institutions including the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Lawrence General Hospital. As part of her commitment to women’s health, she contributed to Our Bodies, Ourselves and Ourselves Growing Older. In 1985, she earned an MBA from Western New England University.
In 1984, she joined the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where she spent two decades, rising to Director of Cancer Control and Prevention before her retirement in 2002. True to her roots as a journalist, she brought a communicator’s instincts to policy work, and her decades of writing about cancer and public health gave her work a clarity and urgency. She capped her professional life with an eleven-year run writing the “Scene and Herd” column for the Lexington Minuteman.
Martha’s civic life in Lexington was as full as her professional one. For more than fifty years, she served the town in nearly every capacity: elected, appointed, and volunteer. She was a Town Meeting member for 38 years, chaired the Planning Board, and served on the Board of Health for a decade, most of that time as chair. She was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2001 and served there until her death. She co-founded the Lexington Committee on Aging and helped make the case for a senior center that now serves thousands of residents. For nearly 30 years, she served on LexHAB, the town’s affordable housing board. She was a longtime leader of the League of Women Voters of Lexington, serving as president in 2005. Her work with the American Cancer Society, Massachusetts Division, spanned nearly twenty years and included founding the Sword of Hope media awards.
When Lexington marked its 300th anniversary, Martha served as Publicity Chair for the celebrations. Her fellow volunteers remembered her as the person who made everyone, newcomers and old-timers alike, feel “100% Lexington.” In her final years, she took on a new cause: LexSeeHer, a community effort resulting in a monument to make women’s contributions visible in Lexington’s public spaces, where she served as vice president for development until 2024.
She was the recipient of the Lexington Minuteman Cane Award in 2018, the town’s highest volunteer honor, as well as the Crusader Award from the Boston Public Health Commission and the American Cancer Society’s National St. George Award.
Even in her downtime, Martha was busy. She enjoyed cheering on her children at sporting events while knitting sweaters for generations of family members, and her quilts have graced the beds of many children and loved ones around the country. She was an avid, lifelong reader and a member of several book clubs. She cherished time with her family at their vacation home in Stoddard, New Hampshire. Martha is survived by her husband of 64 years, Jim Wood; her daughter Jamie; her son Mark and his wife Tracy; and her three grandchildren, Campbell, Leorah, and Jackson. She is also survived by her brother Robert Theodore Crosier and his wife Sandy, and was predeceased by her sister, Caroline Crosier Gaston.
A service will be held at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Lexington on Saturday, June 13 at 10:30am. Please park in the church parking lot, or on the ODD-numbered side of Coolidge Ave or on close-by side streets, leaving plenty of room for traffic to pass by. The memorial service will also be live broadcast over
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83784700554?pwd=AbkKm44NEOqPUAJLT4pvPM7H6lcSJr.1
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions to the American Cancer Society.
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Martha Crosier Wood, please click here to visit our sympathy store.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to honor Martha Wood, a beloved Lexington resident. While our community has lost a true civic leader, I write specifically to honor her extraordinary contributions to the Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB), where I have the privilege of serving as Chair.
Martha served on LexHAB for nearly 30 years, bringing to our board the same dedication, intelligence, and thoughtfulness she demonstrated in every role she held in this town. When I first joined the board, Martha welcomed me with open arms and made me feel that I belonged. That gesture, so characteristic of her kindness, set the tone for my entire tenure.
Martha was a meticulous writer whose careful documentation and clear reasoning strengthened every board she served. At LexHAB, her expertise helped ensure that affordable housing remained accessible to those who needed it most. She never forgot the human beings behind the applications and paperwork—the families, the seniors, the workers trying to build a stable life in our community. Her contributions to LexHAB and to the residents of affordable housing in Lexington will never be forgotten.
Beyond her housing work, Martha’s impact on Lexington was remarkable: 38 years as a Town Meeting member, Chair of the Planning Board, and service on the Board of Health and Zoning Board of Appeals and “LexSeeHer”. In 2018, she received the Minuteman Cane Award, Lexington’s highest civilian honor—recognition she richly deserved.
Martha Wood exemplified what it means to serve a community. She was brilliant yet humble, accomplished yet always ready to listen. Lexington is a better place because of her. My thoughts are with her family, and I hope they know how deeply she was cherished.