Martha Armstrong Phelan

Martha Armstrong Phelan, 98, passed away peacefully in her home in Indianapolis on November 29, 2025.

Martha (Marty) was born in Shelby, Ohio on July 26, 1927 to George W. and Anna Wood Armstrong. She grew up in Shelby surrounded by family and friends and graduated from Shelby High School.

Thereafter, Marty graduated from Oberlin College followed by Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Chicago. The C.I.A. sought her out to update and improve its secretarial pools. It was in Washington D.C. that she met her future husband and love of her life, Vincent R. Phelan. Subsequently, she managed the office for the Committee for Free Asia in New York City. She was quite the adventurer!

Marty spent the next 53 years of her life in her home town of Shelby. She was a very strong lady. While rearing her three children, Anne, Dave, and Beth, she cared for her parents and ultimately her husband.

Marty sang in the Shelby Presbyterian Church choir for over 50 years and was an active member in the Shelby Garden Club.

Marty was fun-loving, caring, competitive, creative, musical, and very intelligent. She loved to garden, arrange flowers, play ping-pong, travel, go boating, and spend time with her children, grandchildren, and recently, great-grandchildren. She was known for her delicious homemade apple sauce.

In 2019 Marty moved to Indianapolis and lived at Mystic Bay. She loved her neighbors and greatly valued the friendships she made there. She maintained her love of gardening by joining the Broad Ripple Garden Club and by serving on the Mystic Bay Grounds Committee. She joined Meridian Street United Methodist Church and attended regularly.

Marty is survived by her 3 children, Beth Riley-Baker (David), Dave Phelan (Barb), and Anne Phelan; her 5 grandchildren, Breanne Borne (Ryan), Kaitlin Duran (Joe), Marie Amundson (Keith), Terri Cariolla (Matt), and Connor Phelan; her 3 step-grandchildren, Kristina Roth (Mike), Brian Baker, and Julia Riley (Jim); and 12 great-grandchildren.

Marty was a force of nature and an inspiration to those who knew her even at the age of 98.

A funeral service will be held January 3, 2026 at Flanner Buchanan - Broad Ripple in Indianapolis. Visitation will be from 12:00-2:00 pm followed by a memorial service at 2:00.

A second funeral service will be held January 17, 2026 at Barkdull Funeral Home in Shelby, Ohio with visitation from 11:00-12:30 followed by a memorial service. Marty will be buried at Oakland Cemetery, Shelby, Ohio.

There will most likely be a Celebration of Life in Indianapolis for out of town relatives and friends later in the year, the date still to be determined.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Broad Ripple Garden Club, Meridian Street United Methodist Church, the First Presbyterian Church of Shelby, or the Nature Conservancy.