We Remember Those Who Have Pasted

OCEAN CITY- Ocean City lost a treasured icon last week
when Martha J. Bunting, matriarch of a historic resort family, passed away at
her West Ocean City home at the age of 74.

For decades, Bunting and her late husband Captain Bill
Bunting, who died in 1994, owned and operated the historic Angler Restaurant
and Marina at the foot of Talbot Street in Ocean City and her children and
their families continue to operate the establishment still. Hundreds gathered
Tuesday afternoon for a memorial service for the late Martha Bunting at the
Sunset Memorial Park along Route 50 near Berlin to pay tribute to the grand
lady and pay condolences to the Bunting and Smith families.

The Bunting family is part of the foundation of Ocean City
with roots going back to the turn of the last century. The family is credited
with laying the groundwork for the vast network of bayside marinas and
restaurants that exist today. In the early 1900s, Charles Rollins Bunting purchased
the waterfront property at the foot of Talbot Street and shortly thereafter was
issued the first-ever dock building permit in Ocean City where the Angler
stands today.

Charles Rollins Bunting and his wife Louise ran the
fledgling restaurant and marina for decades before turning the operation over
to their son William Porter Bunting, fondly remembered as Captain Bill Bunting,
and his wife Martha, who worked along side her husband at the Angler for years,
just her mother-in-law had done before her and her daughters Julie and Jayne do
today.

Martha J. Bunting died last Thursday, May 10, at her home
after a lengthy illness. Born in Williamsville, Del., she was the daughter of
the late Charles F. and Helen Miller Hudson. She is survived by two daughters,
Julie B. Smith and her husband Regan of Ocean City and Jane B. Kendall and her
husband Scott of Ocean City; two sisters, Bernice H. Hall of Wilmington, Del.
and Helen M. Johnson of Selbyville, Del. She is also survived by four
grandchildren, Meegan Jayne Smith, R.J. Smith, Maura Smith and Porter Bunting.

Later in life, Martha Bunting split her time between the
Ocean City she loved and Florida. She was an avid horse lover and a member of
the Royal Palm Polo Club in Boca Raton, Fla. She was also a member of the First
Presbyterian Church in Ocean City.

Services were held at Sunset Memorial Park on Tuesday with
a brief reception following. Donations may be made to Coastal Hospice, P.O. Box
1733, Salisbury, Md. 21802, or Atlantic General Hospital, 9733 Healthway Dr.,
Berlin, Md. 21811.