Barbara L. Martin, lifelong sailor and honorary commodore of the Riverton Yacht Club, has died at 96
She finished sixth in a national regatta, first in many local regattas, and, in 1947, became the first woman to win the seasonal championship in the Duster class at the Riverton Yacht Club.
Barbara L. Martin, 96, of Riverton, Burlington County, lifelong sailor, honorary commodore of the Riverton Yacht Club, community volunteer, and Delaware River waterfront matriarch, died Friday, Sept. 4, of age-associated decline at her home.
Born and reared in Palmyra, Burlington County, hard by the Delaware River, Mrs. Martin practically grew up on the water in the 1930s and ‘40s. Her father, Howard Lippincott, was an avid sailor and head of what The Inquirer called the “famous Riverton sailing family.” He often navigated the family’s motor cruiser Pythagoras up and down the river, floating between the banks in South Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware to the Chesapeake Bay and back.
Years later, in the 1960s and ‘70s, Mrs. Martin and her family sailed those same waters in their schooner Walter Mitty, and her children, like her before them, crabbed and swam and learned how to row and sail. She lived near the waterfront on Bank Avenue, adjacent to the Riverton Yacht Club, for 50 years and routinely opened her home and property to family and friends on holidays, sailors and spectators during regattas, and artists during weeklong local workshops.
“The Delaware River shaped her childhood, her marriage, and her legacy,” her family said in a tribute.
Mrs. Martin served as secretary for the yacht club and gave it permanent access to the tidal zone on her Bank Avenue property. Club officials awarded her a lifetime membership, named her honorary commodore in 2022, and said in an online tribute: “There are certain people whose lives become so intertwined with a family, a club, and a community that their influence is difficult to measure. Barbara was one of those people.”
In Facebook tributes, friends called her “a wonderful lady,” “an amazing person,” and the “Riverton Queen.”
As a young woman, Mrs. Martin, like her father, sister, and six brothers, embraced racing on the river. She finished sixth in a national race, first in many local regattas, and, in 1947, became the first woman to win the seasonal championship in the Duster class at the Riverton Yacht Club.
She was often the only woman in a race, and her victories and near victories were reported frequently in The Inquirer in the 1940s. She even finished one race after her boat was struck by lightning.
Officials at the yacht club called her “a fearsome competitor.” Her family said: She ”became known throughout the region for her determination and skill.”
Her daughter, Barbara Smyth, said: “She made me realize that girls can compete with boys, and they can win.”
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Barbara May Lippincott was born Jan. 3, 1930, in her family home. The youngest of eight children, she graduated from Palmyra High School, learned to sail on a homemade dinghy named Snapper, and called her own championship Duster class boat Tanny Boo.
She met fellow sailor John Martin at a regatta, and they married in 1952, and had daughters Barbara and Jane, and sons John, Richard, and Robert. Her children became sailors, too, and she and her husband spent many weekends at regattas with them. Her husband died in 1984.
Mrs. Martin played tennis and listened to classical music. She sang in the choir and was active at Christ Church in Riverton. In 2022, she was named marshal for the Riverton Fourth of July parade.
She volunteered at a seniors home in Cinnaminson Township and Zurbrugg Memorial Hospital in Riverside Township. She raised funds for the local library, hosted weddings at her home, and doted on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She worked for years as a stenographer and bookkeeper for her brothers and husband, and for her son, John, until she was 87. “She was bullet proof,” her son said. “She gave love without expecting any benefit to her. She was the happiest person I knew.”
In addition to her children, Mrs. Martin is survived by 16 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and other relatives. Her sister and brothers died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Christ Church Riverton, 500 4th St., Riverton, N.J. 08077. A funeral service is to follow at 11.
Donations in her name may be made to Christ Church Riverton, 500 4th St., Riverton, N.J. 08077; and the Riverton Steamboat Landing Foundation, Box 2911, Riverton, N.J. 08077.
