Funeral Services Set for Martha Odom; Remembered As a Shining Light

(Lafayette, LA) - Family and friends of Martha Odom will gather on Friday, May 8, at Martin and Castille for visiting hours, and on Saturday, May 9, a funeral will be held at 10 a.m. for the slain young woman.

The family is requesting that visiting be observed from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Friday, May 8, at their Farrel Road location. The funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a private burial, which will be held at Lafayette Protestant Cemetery.

Get our free mobile app

The young girl, just weeks away from graduation, was slain senselessly when two groups of people started shooting at one another in the Mall of Louisiana on Thursday, April 23.

To honor Martha, her family has established the Martha Odom Legacy of Joyful Grace in Motion fund at the Community Foundation of Acadiana. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to this fund.

The family has announced the following people will serve as pallbearers for Martha:

• Johnathan Buford
• Lucy Centanni
• Amelia Cleveland
• Shelby Godwin
• Luke Harris
• Spencer Howat
• Afif Lakhani
• Lila LeBlanc
• Samuel Sonnier
• Rorie Williamson

Her honorary pallbearers are as follows:

• Brie Castro
• Taylor Davis
• Connie Edwards

The family appreciates the major outpouring of support from family, friends, their Ascension School family, and the community.

She was an extremely accomplished young woman and will be missed by so many. In sharing about Martha, this statement is,

Martha was a member of the Ascension Episcopal School Class of 2026 and embodied the school motto: Gentle, Generous, Truthful, Kind, and Brave. She was a light to everyone around her and, just as beautifully, saw the light in others-encouraging it, nurturing it, and helping it shine brighter.