A Campus Wedding Before an NBA Career
Newman Hall at West Virginia University was the planned setting for a quiet wedding in April 1960. The bride was Martha Jane Kane of Weston, West Virginia, a university junior. The groom was Jerry West, already a basketball star and soon to begin the professional career that would make him a defining NBA figure.
I find that campus scene a useful place to begin because it places Martha in a specific moment of her own life. She was a student and a young woman from West Virginia before later summaries reduced her biography to the phrase Jerry West’s first wife.
Their marriage, three sons, and eventual divorce are established. Much else about Martha remains private, including her birth date, later career, and life after the separation. I would not fill those gaps with details borrowed from other women bearing the same name.
Martha’s University Years
In April 1960, Martha was described as a junior at West Virginia University and as being from Weston. That identifies her educational setting and hometown association, but it does not establish a birthplace or complete childhood history.
Her parents and siblings are not reliably identified here. Nor is there confirmation of her graduation date or degree subject. I distinguish attending a university from completing a particular credential, even when a familiar biographical format invites a neat educational timeline.
The wedding announcement named Willie Akers, a senior center on West Virginia’s basketball team, as the intended best man. That detail places the couple within the university community and Jerry’s basketball circle. The secure marriage year is 1960, with April given in accounts of the wedding.
| Date | Family milestone |
|---|---|
| April 1960 | Martha and Jerry’s campus wedding plans became public |
| 1960 | Their marriage began |
| 1960 to 1974 | Jerry played for the Los Angeles Lakers |
| During the first marriage | Sons David, Mark, and Michael were born |
| 1976 or 1977 | The marriage ended in divorce |
| 1978 | Jerry married Karen Bua |
| June 12, 2024 | Jerry died at 86 |
Jerry West’s Rise and the Family Context
Jerry Alan West was born May 28, 1938, in Chelyan, West Virginia. His parents were Howard Stewart West and Cecile Sue West, born Creasy. His early basketball development took him from East Bank High School to West Virginia University.
He co-captained the United States Olympic basketball team that won gold in 1960. Later that year, his NBA career began with the Los Angeles Lakers. He remained with the team as a player until 1974.
I include that trajectory because it formed the public setting of Martha’s marriage. It does not establish what she thought about games, travel, relocation, or her husband’s growing fame. Those experiences may seem easy to imagine, but they are not documented in her own words here.
Jerry later coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979 and became an influential executive associated with the Lakers, Memphis, Golden State, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Those later achievements belong to his career, extending beyond the first marriage.
David Mark and Michael
Martha and Jerry had three sons: David, Mark, and Michael. David is described as the oldest. He was named after Jerry’s older brother, who had been killed in the Korean War and whom Jerry remembered as his hero.
That naming connection links the children to a family loss preceding their births. I find it a meaningful detail because it shows how an earlier generation’s memory can remain present in a new household.
The sons’ exact birth dates, professions, spouses, and children are not firmly established here. They have generally remained outside the public roles occupied by their father. I would not attach basketball employment or a recognizable family connection to the wrong son simply to make the profile more detailed.
Their privacy also means that the family’s public story is uneven. There is a great deal of information about Jerry’s work and relatively little about the three sons’ individual lives.
Divorce and the Separate Second Household
Martha and Jerry’s marriage ended in 1976 or 1977. Many brief accounts use 1976, while a more cautious chronology allows either year. I keep that uncertainty visible rather than force the dates into an exact 16-year calculation.
No established account here explains Martha’s personal view of the divorce. It would be unfair to assign motives or emotional reactions without her words. Her later marital status and any changed surname are also unknown.
Jerry married Kristine “Karen” Bua in 1978. They had two sons, Ryan and Jonnie. Those sons belong to his second marriage, rather than to Martha’s household. Jonnie later worked in basketball and married golfer Michelle Wie in 2019. Ryan also pursued basketball operations work.
Karen survived Jerry when he died on June 12, 2024. That fact does not establish whether Martha was living at the time, because her status was not clearly reported.
A Biography With Clear Limits
No conventional profession, employer, salary, or personal net worth is established for Martha. Jerry’s NBA career and executive work cannot be treated as a financial statement for her, during the marriage or afterward.
I also keep her separate from an educator named Martha Jane West who was honored after her death in 2025. The similarity of names does not establish identity. That woman’s dates and educational career should not be imported into this family story.
What remains is a modest but coherent outline: a West Virginia university student, a 1960 marriage, motherhood of three sons, and a divorce in the 1970s. The boundaries of that outline are part of the account’s accuracy.
FAQ
Who was Martha Jane Kane married to?
She was Jerry West’s first wife. They married in 1960 after meeting during their university years.
How many children did they have?
They had three sons, David, Mark, and Michael. David is identified as the oldest and was named after Jerry’s late brother.
When did the marriage end?
The divorce is placed in 1976 or 1977. The exact year remains slightly uncertain in the available chronology.
Was Martha the mother of Ryan and Jonnie West?
No. Ryan and Jonnie were Jerry’s sons with his second wife, Karen Bua, whom he married in 1978.
