Martha Stewart describes her late mother, Martha Kostyra, as "a strong, vibrant, funny, very intelligent woman" in a heartfelt editorial tribute in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Known as "Big Martha," the matriarch of the Kostyra clan passed away at age 93 on Nov. 16 after suffering a stroke 12 days prior.
"It was for me, as well as for my siblings, a very difficult 12 days," writes Stewart. "She remained acutely cognizant of the fact that she was in a hospital bed, weak and tired and ready to make her final journey."
Stewart expresses pride at how recognizable her mother had become through more than 40 appearances on various Martha Stewart shows. "She was always tickled when a stranger would approach her to discuss something she had done on television," Stewart shares.
Of the many things she says she will miss about her mother, Martha cites their weekly visits, the several-times-a-week phone calls, thoughtful cards her mother sent every birthday and holiday and "the cotton-flannel nightgowns she sewed for me almost every year.
Adds Stewart, "And I will absolutely miss her as the historian of the Kostyra clan."
One of her mother's last gestures was to prepare envelopes to be given to her children after she passed away. The one given to Stewart contained documents such as her birth certificate and communion papers.
"Only Mom, with her sense of organization, would have know that these would touch my heart like nothing else she could bestow upon me," Stewart concludes. "Thank you, Mother."
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