Martha Purdon Comer

Martha Comer was born on September 8, 1906, in Maysville,Kentucky, and she died on March 5, 2003.
Mrs Comer was the daughter of the late James Purdon and Elizabeth Brown Purdon; she married the late Patrick W. Comer. Mrs Comer attended St. Patrick Grade School and graduated from Maysville High School in 1924, where she was an honor student and salutatorian of her class; she was editor of the school annual, she played basketball all four years, with her team winning the district title her senior year; and she attended Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia, and she later resumed her education at the Maysville Community College.
Martha Purdon Comer was an esteemed member of the Mason County community where she assumed the duties of editor of the Daily Independent in 1935, and later became editor of the Ledger Independent which had morning and afternoon editions; she was a strong advocate of truth in journalism, and even after her retirement on January 7, 1977, she continued as an editorial consultant and wrote a daily column, "Do You Know," as well as editorials; and, during her career, she was invited by President John F. Kennedy to the White House, and she made a trip with Kentucky leaders to West Germany to explore industrial development in the Rhine Valley and seek industry for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Mrs Comer was a member of the Freedom of Information committee for the Kentucky Press Association and a member of the state Associated Press Managing Editors Association; and, in 1995, she was elected to the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, and she also was the recipient of an award for distinguished service for education from Maysville Community College; and
Martha Purdon Comer was an active and involved citizen; in 1953, she was chosen First Lady of the Year by Beta Sigma Phi; in 1976, she was chosen as Maysville's Distinguished Citizen by the Chamber of Commerce, and in 1979, she was chosen Distinguished Alumna of Maysville High School; she was a member of the Mason County Historical Society, a patron of the Mason County Museum, and a member of the Limestone Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; and
Mrs Comer was the first secretary-treasurer of the Dorah H. Merz Memorial Playground; she was the first chairman of the Mason County Cancer Crusade, co-chairman of the Heart Fund, secretary of the anti-poverty program of the Licking Valley Community Action Program, Inc., a member of the board and advisory council of the Mason County Retired Senior Volunteer Program, a member and past officer of the Maysville Woman's Club, and a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club; she was active in the League of Women Voters, the Red Cross Blood Bank, and the Mason County Homemakers; and she was both a patron of the Maysville Players and the Council for the Arts.

She was an advocate of the Maysville floodwall, the county health department, the community college, public housing and civil rights.