Martha W. Shur was a long-time DeKalb, Illinois resident, former elementary school teacher, and a dedicated runner. Martha started running on the roads of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in her mid-30's. With running, she found an outlet for her untapped athletic prowess and covered tens of thousands of miles in her lifetime. Around the age of 37, Martha developed lymphoma while training for a marathon. With ongoing treatment over the next 35 years, she credited her continued running as the reason behind her resilience and survival.

Martha moved to DeKalb in 1983, along with her husband and two young children, at which point she truly hit her stride on the flat, friendly stretches of DeKalb County roads.

She was a sweet and caring woman for whom education was very important. As a former public school teacher, she valued DeKalb's robust school system and the opportunities it provided for her family. She also loved the supportive DeKalb community that was so welcoming to her and her family.

Martha W. Shur passed away on February 3, 2016. A Scholarship Fund was created in her memory at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. The Martha W. Shur Scholarship Fund captures her spirit of relentless running, community commitment, and educational endeavor, as it provides academic support for future generations of young athletic women at DeKalb High School. Her legacy of love and support for the community lives on through the annual distributions from this Fund.