When Martha Drane tells you she’s a lifelong Henry County resident, she says it with the kind of warmth and pride that only comes from deeply rooted connections. Born in Martinsville and educated at Martinsville High School and Patrick Henry Community College, Martha’s story is woven into the very fabric of the region. She spent much of her career in computer technology before opening her own business, Martha’s Baskets and Gifts—a gourmet shop known for its carefully curated food and wine baskets.
But Martha’s story isn’t just one of entrepreneurship. It’s also one of resilience, caregiving, and, ultimately, renewal.
Martha and her husband, Lewis, were married for 22 years before his health began to decline due to dementia. She cared for him at home for more than four years before making the difficult decision to move him into a memory care community. That community was King’s Grant.
“I liked it here from the start,” she said, remembering how welcomed she felt during that first visit. “The staff were just awesome.”
Lewis thrived at King’s Grant—his health improved, his days became more structured, and even in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown, he found joy and connection. “We FaceTimed for hours,” Martha recalls. “Even though he was in a strange place, they kept him active. They’d send me photos—Louis up dancing with his walker, surrounded by nurses. He was having a ball.”
Martha’s decision to join him at King’s Grant wasn’t immediate, but the idea began to bloom during quiet evenings spent alone at home, thinking about maintenance projects and the weight of doing it all on her own. When she finally made the move, she chose her cottage virtually—relying on floorplans, FaceTime, and the trust she had built with the team. “We picked out the whole house virtually—the cabinets, everything,” she said with a laugh. “And it turned out gorgeous.”
Now four years in, Martha describes life at King’s Grant as “like being on vacation.”
“I don’t have to worry about a thing,” she says. “If something breaks, I put in a work order through the app, and someone’s here the next day. It’s just easy.”
Despite ongoing health challenges, including autoimmune issues and the lingering effects of COVID-19, Martha has found ways to create joy and beauty each day. Her creativity shines in the handcrafted rocks and painted oyster shells she decorates—many of which she’s placed around campus for others to find. “I tried leaving them around, but nobody was picking them up!” she laughs. “I don’t think they knew they were supposed to.”
Her artwork is vibrant, detailed, and deeply personal. Some are hand-painted; others are decoupaged using delicate napkin prints. She’s even shared religious-themed rocks at a local warming center over the holidays, offering a little comfort in a simple, handmade gift.
“Before, I was always taking care of everyone else,” she says. “Now, I have time to sit and do the things I love. It’s like I’m finally getting to take care of myself.”
A world traveler with stamps in her passport from Russia, China, Germany, and Alaska, Martha still dreams of returning to her favorite beach—Emerald Isle—as soon as her health allows.
Until then, she finds joy in the everyday: feeding the birds from her window, painting in her cozy, HGTV-worthy home, and spending time with her beloved Yorkie. She may be relatively young by life plan community standards—just 63—but she knows she made the right decision to come to King’s Grant when she did.
“People wait too long,” she says. “You should come while you’re still young enough to enjoy everything. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
