Martha Lillard: key obituary facts
Is Martha Lillard dead? Yes. Martha Lillard died on June 26, 2026, at age 78.
Cause of death: Martha Lillard's cause of death was reported as COVID-19.
What was Martha Lillard known for?
She was a last living iron lung user (born 1948).
More about Martha Lillard
Gender: female.
Born: Martha Ann Lillard(1948-06-08)June 8, 1948Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Known for: Last known person to use an iron lung in the United States.
Martha Lillard, an American polio survivor and the last known person in the United States to rely on an iron lung, died on June 26, 2026, at age 78 from complications of a COVID-19 infection.
Born Martha Ann Lillard on June 8, 1948, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, she contracted polio at age five in 1953. After Paul Alexander’s death, she became the last known person still dependent on an iron lung, a rare vestige of the polio era that defined much of her life.