Obituary of Martha "Petey" Price

Martha "Petey" Tinkham Price, of Chautauqua New York, who was born on June 19, 1926, died on Sunday October 6th surrounded by her loving family. A native of Jamestown, she is the daughter of Norman M. and Martha Dibert Tinkham. She attended Euclid Avenue and Washington Junior High School in town and Chatham Hall secondary school in Virginia. She matriculated at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she spent two years before her marriage to Samuel P. Price of Jamestown on October 12, 1946. Petey and Sam raised a family of 6 children and now have 19 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Petey's focus in life was her husband and her children; her career was as a wife and mother which she came by naturally and did superbly. The recipients of her love and care whether family or her hosts of friends were enriched and supported beyond measure. She had a great love for Chautauqua Institution, where she spent summers from 1967 to 1983, when Chautauqua became her permanent residence. She was a member of the Friends of Smith Library, Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), and she enjoyed attending the many cultural offerings at Chautauqua, especially dance programs, lectures and movies. She was a familiar figure walking the Grounds. Petey lavished her sparkling enthusiasm for life on her large family, wide circle of cherished friends, and the person next to her on a plane or in a post office line. She was an avid reader, intellectually alive, a lover of fresh air and gardening, the maker of the best comfort food anywhere, and, as her husband Sam coined her and a thousand and one recipients can attest, a "world class hugger". To the end of her life she exhibited a keen interest in the people around her and had a rich fund of stories made possible by her remarkable memory. Especially to her family, she is simply a gift, a bottomless source of hope in life's goodness. Her husband Sam often remarked that marrying Petey was the best decision he ever made. Petey was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Mary Doolittle, and is survived by her six children: Clark (Charlene) Price of Rochester; Marty Young of Rochester; Tom (Barbi) Price of Chautauqua; Sam (Anita) Price, Jr., of Jamestown; Theo (Dustin) Nelson of Bemus Point; and Norman (Hei-Ja Martin) Price of Amherst, Massachusetts. Surviving grandchildren are: Vanessa Sanchez, Samuel C. Price, Emily Hicks, and Kathryn P. Price; Sarah Young, Nathan P. Young, and Berit T. Young; Elizabeth Kasbar, Margaret Adler, Penfield C. Price, and Coco Price; Alexandra Price, Samuel P. Price III and Molly M. Price; Sophie Nelson, Dustin Nelson, Jr. and Wilson P. Nelson; Charlotte R. Price and Owen M. Price. A private family graveside service will be held at the Chautauqua Cemetery. Friends will be received from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Lind Funeral Home. The family suggests that memorials be made to The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, The Chautauqua Foundation, The James Prendergast Library Association, or to a charity of choice.