Obituaries

Martha “Marti” Hausch Geise, 71, went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on May 27, 2023, after a brief battle with mesothelioma.

Born and raised in Akron OH by her parents Walter R. Hausch and Ann (McKinniss) Hausch, the third of four daughters. She graduated from Copley High School, Wheaton College with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, and Marshall University with a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She worked for many years in Christian counseling. In 1984 she moved to Northumberland and met her husband William “Bill” Geise Jr. who she married in 1986. Marti and Bill were blessed with three children, a son who was stillborn, and two daughters.

There was hardly a subject Marti couldn’t discuss. She loved learning and so she read widely and attended many educational events. When her daughters were school aged, she devoted herself to homeschooling. She taught them to love learning too, and she gave them a diverse and interesting education. For many years they were members of the Susquehanna Civil War Roundtable and the Northumberland County Historical Society and Marti served in leadership roles in both organizations. Marti considered herself a citizen of the valley, and so traveled widely to attend educational events in local libraries and historical societies.

Marti was very creative; she saw potential in any item to transform into something beautiful. She loved to cook and bake and was constantly inventing new recipes, some of which were award winning. She also loved to crochet, paint, do calligraphy, write, arrange flowers, and make crafts. She was always ready to try something new and she picked up the skills quickly.

Marti had a strong and saving faith in Jesus which she nurtured in herself and others through church membership and service. She loved the Bible, missions, Christian books and listening to sermons and songs on Christian radio and online. She especially loved the works of C.S. Lewis and his friends known as the “Inklings”. As Marti was reflecting on her life, she recalled the quote by C.S. Lewis in Perelandra, “The world is so much larger than I thought. I thought we went along paths--but it seems there are no paths. The going itself is the path.”

Marti is survived by her husband Bill and daughter Melissa Geise both of Northumberland, and daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Tyler McDonald of Norristown. Also, her sisters and their husbands: Pat (Michael) Pearson and Mary Hausch (Bob Coffin) all of Las Vegas NV, and Cathy (Tom) Clark of Maysville KY, and sister-in-law Betsy (Earl) Buckley of Campbell NY, and many nieces and nephews. She is proceeded in death by her son Jonathan Geise, and her parents.

A Celebration of Marti’s Life will be held Saturday, July 22, 2023, at 12 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 12 Brookside Drive, Danville PA (off Rt. 642 East) with Rev. Darrin Hunt officiating. Relatives and friends will be received at the church from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Degenstein Community Library 40 S. 5th Street Sunbury PA 17857, Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library, 100 King Street, Northumberland PA 17857, or Good News Club Inc. of Northumberland County Child Evangelism Fellowship, 53 Blue Hill Road, Northumberland PA 17857.

Arrangements are under the direction of Visneski Funeral Home, Inc. 42 West Mahoning Street Danville PA 17821.