Martha Jo Worley “Brevardian of the Week”

Martha Jo Worley has lived in Brevard for 27 years and is Director of Maternal Child Services at Transylvania Regional Hospital where she oversees labor, delivery, postpartum and normal newborn care as well as the Neonatal Intensive Care unit. “The best part of my job,” Martha Jo explains, “is watching a couple become a family in one instant.  When a daddy starts to cry at the birth of his child, I cry with him. And, I enjoy fast labors when the doctor doesn’t make it and I get to deliver the baby. Bringing a new life into the world is such a great feeling.”

Martha Jo is also mom to her five children; Amanda 25, Katie 24, Emily 22, Allison 21, and Ricky 20. “I also have one perfect granddaughter, Harper,” Martha Jo adds. This week she took time to answer questions from ilovebrevardblog.com:

What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I got thrown out of Christian college for pulling pranks.

What’s your favorite “de-stress” technique?
Bubble baths.  If I’m really stressed I may take two or three a day.

What is one thing you did growing up that you hope your kids don’t do?
We used to ride standing up in the back of pickup trucks down dirt roads.

What do you hope your children will remember most about you as a mother?
Many things.  Pajama runs, me mooning them to get them to clean their room, rocking them to sleep, Red Rover and Freeze Tag.

What’s the naughtiest thing you did as a child?
I left the front door open one day when we left to go to school.  When my mom got home, there were two goats sitting on the couch in the living room.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My kids gave me a cruise with one of my dearest friends.

What song (or music artist) takes you back to your high school days?
Take It to the Limit by the Eagles

What is the best practical joke you ever played on someone while you were growing up?
At summer camp, while all of the boys were swimming, I slipped into their dorm and stole all of their underwear and threw in in the swamp.  They had to wear their swim trunks the rest of the summer session as underwear.

Have you ever gotten out of getting a speeding ticket?
Yes.  It helps to know most of the officers.  I either taught them in high school or helped with the birth of their children.

What’s the best memory you have of your grandparents when you were a child?
Getting up very early to go fishing.  Watching the sun rise on the river. And of course, learning how to use the bathroom off of the side of a boat.

What are you most thankful for?

Waking up every day knowing that I have an incredible family, wonderful  friends, and a life that makes me very happy.

What do you remember about your very first date?
Watching Swamp Think and a very dry kiss at the end of the night.

What specific memory of your childhood stands out the most?
Being crowned Homecoming Queen.

What’s the best thing about living in Brevard?
The sense of community.  We celebrate the good times together and pull together during times of crisis.  I love walking down the street and having people know your name.

What important goal do you have for the next three months?
To make exercise a more consistent part of my day ugh.

If you won the lottery, what would you splurge on?
A worldwide cruise with 100 of my favorite people.

Apart from immediate family members, who has had the greatest influence on you?
Jackie Sexton.  She always showed grace and kindness to everyone she met.

Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Daisy Manning.  An English teacher.  She taught me a love of the classics. I love to read everything from Shakespeare to modern literature.  My favorite poem still is General William Booth Enters Heaven by Vachel Lindsay because of the way words bounce off of your tongue.

What were summers like for you, as a child?
We had a summer camp, so much of the summer was spent readying  the camp for campers.  Then when they would come having several hundred playmates all summer.

What’s one thing your mom never told you?
SEX!!!

What’s been your most embarrassing moment with your children? 
I took the medication Ambien for a couple of years. There are many times that I would do or say things that I have no memory of. I learned to Soldja Boy on Ambien, had the “talk” with new boyfriends, watered rocks and many, many more embarrassing things.

What’s one thing that always makes your day?
A good laugh.  One that makes your stomach sore and you have tears rolling down your face.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I tend to over analyze things.  I want to just be in the moment more rather than worrying about if everyone else is having a good time.

3 Comments

Filed under Brevardian of the Week

3 Responses to Martha Jo Worley “Brevardian of the Week”

  1. Daisy Manning Helms Faulk

    I love it. You always made me laugh. I’ll never forget your telling how Joyce played the organ that had no front board with everything in full view of the congregation! “Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?”

  2. Marjie Helms Buchanan

    I am so glad you are my niece…you are so special! You have a very quirky sense of humor and I love it. Daisy Manning is my all time favorite teacher also.

  3. Oh my goodness… that summer camp was one for the record books! We had such a good time there. We had no idea we were in dumpy little cabins with no a/c and it was as hot as the backroads of Hades! Good times, for sure.
    And thank you for mentioning my sweet Nana… she was one in a million!
    Love you, Martha Jo… Brevard is blessed to have you!

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