Obituary of Martha Schmerge Zerega

Martha Schmerge Zerega, beloved educator and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2025. Martha was revered by family, friends, and students for her kindness, warmth, and creativity. She had a pure heart and was always ready to lend a hand to anyone, at any time, for anything.

Martha taught generations of young children at nursery schools in Rye and across Westchester County. For decades, she brought her passions for early childhood education and arts and crafts into pre-school classrooms. Parents of her students were amazed at the creations carried home at the end of each day.

Martha’s greatest project, however, was her family. She was born to Albert and Rita Schmerge on December 22, 1942 in Los Angeles and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Summit Country Day School where she excelled in basketball. It’s also where Chubby Checker played her senior prom.
 

When Martha was 17, her parents moved their family–which would grow to number 12 children–to Mamaroneck. Martha attended Marymount College and soon met Guy Zerega, who was also from a large family. They met at St. Augustine Church where Guy was coaching basketball teams that included some of Martha’s sisters. Martha and Guy fell madly in love and were married in 1963 at St. Augustine. They went on to have five children of their own: Ursula (Lang), Blaise, Guy, Justin, Nicole (Povemba). Later, she became a doting grandmother to 12 grandchildren.

Martha was a loyal friend and loved to laugh. She was an avid tennis player, active in art classes, bridge and garden clubs, and could often be found at crafts fairs where she sold items that she’d made ranging from pottery to quilts to watercolor paintings. Numerous local retailers carried her handmade wares. Several of her newborn grandchildren were blessed to be swaddled in one of her handsewn quilts.

Martha is survived by Guy, her husband of 62 years; her five children and their spouses; 12 grandchildren; her brothers and sisters and their extended families. She is preceded in death by her mother and father; brothers Albert, Stephen, Anthony; and sister Susan. Martha’s life was one exemplified by genuine goodness and the practice of Christian values.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 15, at St. Augustine Church, 18 Cherry Avenue, in Larchmont. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven, Hawthorne, New York. 

Visitation will be held on Friday November 14 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Fox Funeral Home, located at 2080 Boston Post Rd, Larchmont.