Home staging designer, devoted wife, mother
Martha Smalanskas. (Courtesy photo)
Martha Smalanskas died peacefully on July 24, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. She was 57 years old. A longtime resident of Harvard, She was the loving and devoted wife of Richard Smalanskas and mother of Sebastian, Matias, and Oliver.
Born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on June 25, 1965, to Doris Landivar Encina and Nicolas Encina, Martha’s first experience in the United States was as a high school exchange student in Kansas City, Missouri. After high school she attended The National University of Córdoba in Córdoba, Argentina. She later transferred to Endicott College in Beverly before finally transferring to Suffolk University in Boston where she graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications and advertising.
Martha worked in a variety of industries including legal and finance before settling on her career in the home design industry. One of the best-known staging designers in the Boston area, her husband continues to run a successful home staging business that Martha established in 2005.
However, her true passion was her children. She always said, “All I really want in life is to be a mother.” Her home was always known to be a safe place and second home for many neighborhood children.
Rick and Martha’s relationship was one of true love and loyalty. Married for 29 years, they met in 1990 in Boston where they were both living at the time. They married in 1993 and soon moved to Martha’s home city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to be closer to family to help raise their first son, Sebastian. After a few years of establishing themselves, Martha and Rick moved back to Massachusetts.
While living in Sudbury, Martha had her second son, Matias, in 1998. The growing family then moved to Harvard in 1999 before having their final child, Oliver, in 2000.
Martha had many hobbies and interests including traveling, design, art, gardening, teaching Spanish, raising chickens, and especially raising her children.
Martha was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June. She was cared for during her illness by her beloved husband, sons, and family and friends who visited from around the country and world.
In addition to her husband and mother, Martha is survived by her three sons.. She is further survived by her siblings: Ana Maria, Nicolas, Hugo, Alberto, Monica, and Carlos.
A Mass of Christian Burial was privately celebrated for Martha at St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, followed by interment in Bellevue Cemetery in Harvard.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Martha’s memory can be made to https://giving.massgeneral.org/where-to-give/cancer-center/ or www.ummhealth.org/giving.
To share a memory or offer a condolence, visit www.badgerfuneral.com.
.
