Martha Ward (MacDougall) Binford

Martha Ward (MacDougall) Binford, born June 17, 1921, died early on August 26, 2026, following a fall. She is the last of her generation in a very large, extended family. She was preceded in death by her husband John Richard, daughter Lydia M. Whitford, and brother John D. MacDougall. She is survived by daughters Elizabeth, Sarah (Peter) and Rebekah (William), ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and five nieces and nephews. Martha was born and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, the daughter of

Duncan Campbell and Beulah Leora Stewart (Ward) MacDougall. She graduated from Shortridge High School in 1940 and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Indiana University. Between earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Martha worked as a psychological analyst, evaluating the mental aptitude of workers. While earning her master’s, she served as house mother of the Delta Zeta sorority and was so highly esteemed that they made her an honorary member.

After marrying John Richard Binford in 1950, she lived in Bloomington, Indiana. After her husband completed his Masters in Psychology, the Binfords moved to Panama City, Florida, then San Antonio, Texas. A career change brought them to Fort Worth, Texas and finally to Louisville, Kentucky, when her husband became a professor at the University of Louisville. During a sabbatical, the family spent a year in Palo Alto, California, while her husband studied the early IBM mainframe computers at Stanford University in 1966-67. Upon returning to Louisville, Martha began to work with Head Start, testing children for placement.

Martha was a dedicated member of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) since the 1950s, participating in and leading ARE- affiliated Search for God study groups and coordinating ARE events in locations near where she lived. For many years, she participated in the annual ARE Congress at the headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Martha had a great love for music. She played the piano and the viola and sang with the Bach Society of Louisville and the Southern Baptist Seminary Chorus for many years. She was a loyal patron of the Louisville Orchestra and the Louisville Chamber Music Series.

Martha was a dedicated genealogist and derived great satisfaction researching and filling in her extensive family tree. She was the family historian for the MacDougall clan that immigrated to Indianapolis in the early 1900s and the Stewart/Ward family who were pioneer settlers in Indiana and whose forbearers immigrated to North America in the 1600s. She maintained and updated numerous substantial volumes for the families of all her aunts and uncles. She celebrated both her Scottish and Hoosier heritage and took pride in being descended from pioneers in Milan, Indiana.

In 1995, Martha gave up her long-time home in Louisville to move to Indianapolis to be closer to family. She was well-loved and will be long remembered by those who were fortunate to have known her.