Martha was a kind and religious woman. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on September 7, 1912, and grew up on the north side of town. After graduating from high school, she attended the Cleveland School of Art (now the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) in the University Circle area of Cleveland, Ohio. She studied watercolor, printmaking, painting and fashion design. Her studies were cut short by the Depression and she returned to Indianapolis. There, in the early 1930's, she net Norman Peine. They were married in 1938. They ran an insurance business together until Norman entered the Army at the beginning of World War 2. During the war, Norman served in California, and Martha traveled by train to visit him there several times. After the war, Norman returned to Indianapolis. Tragically, only months after returning, he died of a tetanus infection. Martha never stopped loving his memory.

In the late 1940's she met Silas Oscar Byrum, and married him in 195- or 1951. They had one son, John Michael, born September 9, 1952. Working with an architect, they designed and built a home at 5846 N. Parker and moved into the home in 1954. Silas was an electrician with Indianapolis Public Schools. By the time he retired in the late 1960's he was Electrical Superintendent for the Indianapolis school system.

After Silas retired, they enjoyed taking their trailer on vacations, and spending winters in a trailer park in Florida. Silas died in 1979.

Martha was always a member of a church. In her younger years, she was a Methodist and then became a member of North minister Presbyterian Church on Kessler Boulevard. She began volunteering in her 20's, and continued that practice well into her 70's.

She lived in the Parker house until early 1990's, when she began to exhibit signs of failing memory. When it became apparent that she could not quite take care of herself, her son moved her to an apartment in Mentor, Ohio, where he could take care of her. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her condition worsened, and she had to move to a nursing home in the mid-1990s. She died on June 3, 2004.

She had a long and full life. She is missed.