MEMORIAL TRIBUTE - Martha Hawes

One of the most creative plants biologists I have known. Unfortunately creativity is in short supply and often there is a cost for being this way because most of us are used to being the same as everyone else.

She was such a kind and giving person. She gave so many of us who suffer from scoliosis the hope that we can improve without surgery.

Martha's legacy is to remind us all of grace, wisdom, and insight, and the power of persistence and resilience. She inspired me when we met and continues to do so today. I thank her and miss her, as do we all.

Martha was a radiant light on campus in my early years at the University of Arizona. She often stopped by my office for short visits and much laughter. She was a fellow "gregarious introvert" who didn't need a lot of time, a big audience or center stage to leave an indelible impression on me. She was authentic, kind, strong, intelligent, creative and so witty! What a incredible human and what a gift it is to have shared a little of her life in Tucson.

We at the Botanical Society of America office fondly remember how kind Martha always was to us, sending her personally created notes of encouragement and thanks.  In the summer of 2019 she gave us a lovely tour of her home and the property there.  Her passion for conservation, plants and the planet were contagious and inspiring and her home was just lovely.  She made everyone feel welcome.

Martha and I shared many an hour over the years, trying to calm her wild hair.  She was a dedicated to her science, health and wildlife preservation with every part of her being. I loved her quirky sense of humor, and that she always had a smile on her face. I will really miss her.

I met Martha after she had retired and admired her commitment to the earth and all creatures of the earth!  She had the most beautiful smile!  The world is a better place for the contributions she made during her career!

Martha was clearly a brilliant scientist, fiercely independent in her thinking—much like her husband. Yet despite that independence, I will always think of them as “Martha and Hans.”

Martha and I were trainees within the same department at the University of Florida, she a postdoc, I a graduate student. We became close friends, with she and Craig serving as attendants at my marriage and I and my husband serving as attendants at theirs. Over the years, Martha has stood out to me for her fierce defense of science, brave pursuit of truth and unflinching support of Hans during his illness. Martha was not one to sugarcoat; she faced her demons head on, and shared her life lessons generously with others. My friendship with Martha helped me to grow in self-awareness, to better appreciate the natural world around me, and to appreciate the value of thinking for myself. She made me a better and more authentic version of myself; she was a rare and true gift.

Martha was our neighbor on Mockingbird Lane. She helped out with the monthly Enchanted Hills Trailhead cleanup, and that's how we got to know her. We shared a love of nature and of the desert.  We went to her house several times, and we helped put in a trail around her house. She loved our pets and was such a delightful woman.  We always enjoyed spending time with Martha.  When she said she was turning 70, we had her over for a party just the three of us.  I went all out and got decorations, and the next time we went to her house those decorations were on display there! She told us she never thought she would make it to 70 because of her health issues since birth.  She had to be very careful with what she ate, and she hardly ever sat down!  We moved from Mockingbird Lane to a home near Twin Peaks and Silverbell a few years ago, and we invited her over for brunch several months later. That was a big outing for her, since I think she had difficulty with orientation. I had to meet her at the nearby Safeway. That was the last time we saw her. I was so saddened to hear of her passing, but am comforted in knowing that she had a happy and full life. 

It was a pleasure and an honor to work in Martha's lab. It was always a pleasure to talk with her, always full of energy and ideas. I have wonderful memories and Christmas cards from her and Hans.

Martha was uniquely motivated and energized to discover scientific truths and to teach others what she learned.

Martha was always a good friend and is missed. Her sense of humor was always a joy. She named me “The Mother of Squirrels” since I had to organize faculty events.

We had met Martha from one of our special friend, Ray Martinez. She was a kind, sense of humor, caring talented, creative... It has been so hard for Art and I losing our special friends Martha♥️ and Ray♥️. Ray passed away June 16 2025 of this year. We had spend time with them on weekends and at times during the week. We miss them very much. May perpetual light shine upon Martha and Ray and may they rest in peace, Always. With all our love, Always.♥️ Art♥️and Conny ♥️Ornelas ✝️✝️🙏🙏💝💝🌹🌹🕊️🕊️

My final weeks of graduate school were intense, chaotic and rushed as I progressed from defense to graduation and then relocation across country to begin my postdoctoral position at the USDA. Goodbyes were sporadic and scattered. After I had been in Florida for a few months, I received a beautiful handmade “good bye and good luck” card from Dr. Martha Hawes and Dr. Gerard White. I was not only surprised but also deeply touched by their warm gesture. This is my memory of Martha, always a kindhearted and supportive person.

My dear friend, Janice Coons introduced me to Martha years ago. Whenever I visited Janice in Tucson we would visit Martha. As all of you know Martha loved the wildlife that roamed her property and over the years she took 100's of pictures of the plants and animals on the property. She often framed and displayed some of the pictures in her home. A hobby that Martha had was making her own greeting cards. Over the years I was lucky to receive some of Martha's greeting cards which always included a picture that she had taken of one of her animal friends. Martha was a dear, sweet lady who was a brilliant scientist. I'm so glad that I got to spend some time with Martha. She will be missed. Nancy Coutant, Charleston, IL 

In Memory of Martha It’s hard to find words deep enough to express how much I miss Martha. She was far more than my PhD advisor and longtime boss. She was a friend, a mentor, and one of the most inspiring souls I have ever known. Her kindness was mountain high and her compassion reached far and touched many. She had a way of lifting people up simply by believing in them. Her curiosity was boundless. Her imagination, fearless. Under her spirit, the lab became a playground of discovery, a place where science danced with wonder. When experiments unfolded as hypothesized, her joy was contagious: she’d laugh, cheer, or break into her little happy dance. And when results took an unexpected turn, she’d smile and say softly, “Hmm, that’s interesting,” as if every surprise were an invitation to explore further. She taught us never to believe the discouraging words once said to her, “If it’s so great, somebody else must have discovered that already.” To Martha, every idea was worth exploring, every spark worth protecting. She showed me how to trust our instincts, to stay curious, and to be bold, to find joy not only in discovery, but in the process of research. Martha also taught me that independence can never be overemphasized in science, in work, and in life. To think freely, to walk your own path, and to listen to the quiet courage within. Those were her gifts that will stay with me forever. Outside the lab, her love of nature reflected her love of people. She was gentle, observant, and full of respect. She could pause for a bird’s call, for the shimmer of leaves, for the quiet wisdom of wild things. She often brought us pictures of the little animals she cared for in her yard, saying with delight, “Look, I got new babies today!” The same wonder that fueled her science flowed through her deep respect and admiration for life itself. She collected countless photos of the animals in her yard, of us in the lab, at her gatherings, department softball games, and on hikes through the trails of her property. These images became the heart of the handmade Christmas cards that Xiong and I received from her each year. These were small treasures filled with memory, warmth, and love. I will forever be grateful for her guidance and her faith in me. Though she is no longer here, her laughter still echoes, her kindness still surrounds, and her spirit continues to inspire all of us who were lucky enough to have known her.

A highly intelligent, accomplished woman, Martha was held in very high esteem in her chosen field of botany. Off campus, she was truly a trailblazer in the scoliosis world, which is how we came to know Martha. She made an incredible impact as a friend to others with scoliosis, published researcher, author, and speaker– an untiring advocate for herself and for others navigating scoliosis. As a featured speaker at numerous medical conferences in the early 2000s, Martha worked hard to influence minds in the surgical community toward the need for more conservative care for scoliosis and fewer surgeries. After an encounter with Martha, her vast knowledge of scoliosis research and the logical arguments she set forth made it difficult for anyone to think scoliosis should be treated any other way except conservatively!  Our family was blessed when Martha came into our lives. It is not an understatement to say that she played a pivotal role in our family’s personal scoliosis journey. Marc’s first phone call to Martha was a cold call in the fall of 2001. From that first contact, she enthusiastically and generously shared her insights and extensive knowledge. After just a couple of calls, she invited us to her home in Tucson. In November 2001, two lost, discouraged parents from Boston boarded a plane for Tucson on a fact-finding mission. Upon our arrival, we made an instant connection with Martha and talked the night away. We also had the honor of purchasing the first copy of her newly self-published book, something she noted in the inscription. That book, “Scoliosis and the Human Spine,” is, by far, the most tattered, referenced book on our shelves. In the book, Martha analyzed the gamut of published research on scoliosis from the entire twentieth century, which was mostly about surgery, and challenged much of it to expose what she believed to be the flaws in the treatment of scoliosis. In the forward of the  book, Martha provided an overview which succinctly states: (1) “current clinical approaches to treatment of spinal deformity in this country are inadequate and inappropriate, and that (2) basic and clinical research to design new strategies are needed.” In one chapter entitled “The Appearance of a Conflict of Interest,”  she made a powerful case that the lack of treatment options, aside from surgery, was just that. 

At the time, we were just looking for answers that the medical world could not, or would not, provide. Like Martha, we understood that a paradigm shift was necessary and needed to include choices for patients and families, including conservative treatment alternatives for scoliosis. As the pivotal influence she was, Martha was instrumental in the grassroots movement that has happened in the field of scoliosis over the past twenty years. The path our lives took after meeting her ultimately led to us establishing Scoliosis 3DC®. We may even say that it was kismet that a chiropractor–and his ‘wants to know all the options’ wife–would be thrust into the scoliosis world at that particular moment in time. A time when a wonderful, brilliant, giving lady was making an organized, well-thought-out, and well-presented case for the voiceless. It takes a formidable and strong person to challenge the medical establishment, and Martha never backed down, traveling all over the world to speak at conferences and challenging the most highly regarded scoliosis specialists of the Scoliosis Research Society, even putting them on the spot to defend their broad use of surgery for scoliosis.  We were so fortunate to forge a special friendship with Martha and her husband, Hans Van Etten. From 2011 to 2015, we had numerous visits to their home or on campus, while our son attended school at the U of A. (Although Martha was a Wildcat through and through, after awhile the visits would wind down and Marc, Hans and I would head to a football game but Martha would bow out!). While there we would spend hours visiting with Martha and Hans, discussing scoliosis and the flawed assumptions and guidelines adopted by the key players. (By that I mean that our shared belief that surgery is often unnecessary for so many, and the widespread belief, at that time, that exercise for scoliosis doesn’t work and that kids won’t do it.) We also had the pleasure of hosting Martha in our home, enjoyed meeting her and visiting at various conferences, and were always able to gain insights into scoliosis that were nuanced and shared willingly. We can sincerely say that the scoliosis world, patients, parents, and families of patients, are far better off today as a result of having had a fighter like Martha in their corner. Martha, may you rest in peace. You are missed and will always hold a special place in our hearts!