Who Was Martha Stewart's Mom, Big Martha?

Martha Stewart wouldn't have become the woman and television star that she is today if it wasn't for her mother, Big Martha. Big Martha, who was born Martha Ruszkowski, became Martha Kostyra after marrying her husband, Edward Kostyra, in 1937. Unlike her daughter, who went on to become one of the biggest stars in the world, Big Martha lived a very modest lifestyle. She was a teacher who helped raise her and her husband's six children in the middle-class neighborhood of Nutley, New Jersey, and was every bit a mentor to her kids at home as she was to her students in school.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson she taught was to her second child (and oldest daughter), Stewart. Big Martha not only inspired her daughter's tireless work ethic, she also nurtured the culinary skills that would lead to Stewart's stunning transformation and fame. To this day, Stewart applies some of the recipes she learned from her mother to her own cooking. Meals like Stewart's Country Cheesecake, Grandma's Mac & Cheese, Stollen Wreath Bread, and others were all foods she made after studying with her mom.

But Stewart credited Big Martha for teaching her far more than just cooking. In 2015, Stewart wrote (via Page Six): "My mom taught me everything — cooking and sewing. She sewed my clothes. She edged napkins and tablecloths. I did her pierogi recipe on TV. Excellent in penmanship, my mother wrote letters longhand. She swam at the YMCA pool."

Big Martha lived to be 93 years old before dying from a stroke on November, 16, 2007. One thing you never knew about Martha Stewart is that she eventually became her mother's caregiver, which wasn't always easy. Unlike Stewart, Big Martha was very private about her physical health. "I tried to keep track of what she was doing," Stewart told the Wall Street Journal. "But as people age, they get a little annoyed when there's an intrusion. It was just [an effort] to keep track: Did she go to this? Did she get this kind of medication?" Stewart also noted that she handed Big Martha carefully selected vitamins to help her stay healthy. "And I made all these nice little packages of nutritional supplements, herbs and things. And they were still in the drawer when she died," she added.

This was very different from Stewart's relationship with her daughter, Alexis Stewart. Martha wouldn't hesitate to let Alexis know when she was dealing with a health issue, but Big Martha wasn't raised that way. "She was very private. She was brought up of the school that you don't talk about the will, you don't talk about the insurance, you don't talk about anything. You don't talk about it," she added. But even in death, Big Martha was still inspiring Martha to take new risks. The cook's experience as a caregiver emboldened her to write a book on the subject, filling a missing niche in literature. "There are lots of books on how to invest your money, and do this and do that, but very little for the caregiver. So we are working on a book, the caregiver's guide. That will take a while," she said. The book, titled "Living the Good Long Life: A Practical Guide to Caring for Yourself and Others," was released in 2013.