Woman drowned during Ian memorialized by bench on Edison-Ford Estates

The memory of a woman drowned by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge in Fort Myers Beach will live on through a bench at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

Before her death, Martha Campbell spent a lot of her time volunteering at the estates and other places around Fort Myers. Her friends and family call her “Marti.” Martha “Marti” campbell — took her final breath.

“I ended up in a tree about three houses down and hung on there… unfortunately could witness her house crumbling and actually, it more or less just kind of leaned over,” said Robert Campbell, Martha’s brother. “It gave up, but it went underwater when it did.”

That was what Robert Campbell said days after he watched his beloved sister disappear into Ian’s storm surge on Fort Myers Beach. Her body was found another few days later.

More than six months later, she has not been forgotten.

“She was a very, very good friend and a very good person, and we miss her immensely,” said Helen Haver, one of Martha’s friends.

Haver remembers her friend Marti as someone who loved to volunteer, and who gave her time because she wanted to. Before that, though, she was a teacher. Even further back, as a college student, she took an oath to wear the Greek letters chi omega.

“We’re all from different universities; we had a common bond,” said Pam Bratton, one of Martha Campbell’s sorority sisters. “We have a weekly luncheon, or a monthly luncheon, at Pure Saigon. We all come and have lunch. It’s very informal. And that’s how we’ve all met each other through the years.”

Marti’s Southwest Florida sorority sisters may have gone to different universities, but they proudly wear the same letters. After her death, the sisterhood came up with an idea to make sure Marti’s name and legacy are remembered forever.

“All I did was make a phone call,” said Kay Sadler. “But it was interesting. And when I called, I just said, ‘I have a friend who has passed away in the hurricane.’ And she said, ‘Oh, Marti, she was my best friend for 14 years.’ I didn’t even need to mention her name. People know who Marti was.”

Marti volunteered at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates so often that she was hired part-time. Her sorority sisters figured there was no better place to put a bench in her honor than in a spot Marti loved most.

They all pitched in and made it happen.

One of her sisters called it “the Chi Omega way.”

“She’s here now,” said Beth Oliver. “She’s here in spirit, for sure, and will be forever with the bench.”

Marti’s bench is past the parking lot in the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, placed in a spot people can get to for free. Her sorority sisters say that’s so everyone gets the chance to sit with Martha “Marti” Campbell, a woman who was so loved by so many.