James David Martin

Our dad, David Martin, never met a stranger. He enjoyed learning about people’s life stories and reveled in sharing his most recent adventures, explaining how to get an advanced degree, expounding on the importance of voting, or bragging about his grandchildren, daughters, and son-in-laws. He embraced civic life and lived a life of service to his family and his community. On any given weekend he could be found volunteering for Rotary International, progressive causes, or tending to the community garden. We were often expected to join. His commitment to others began at a young age growing up in the small college town of Tarkio, Missouri.  

He was born on March 23, 1944, to Richard K. Martin and Marjoire Miller Mitchell Martin in Shenandoah, Iowa. As a young boy and only child, he spent time exploring the small Presbyterian campus where his father worked as a history professor.  He delighted in being able to participate in many of the college activities as a young boy.  On the weekends, he would visit his Aunt Elma and Uncle Harold’s farm in Iowa where he learned to bale hay, harvest crops, and drive a tractor.  He shared a large vegetable patch with his father at his grandparent’s house in a nearby town.  He proudly sold huge onions and fresh tomatoes to local stores.  His love of gardening continued throughout his life, only he later took pleasure in giving his locally grown produce away for free.   

Our dad was a joiner. As a teenager, he mowed lawns and worked a milk route that delivered milk to homes and stores.  He was allowed to take as much milk home with him as he wanted and thus developed a lifelong milk habit.  He spent summers lifeguarding and teaching children to swim–later his two daughters would take up the same summer job in their backyard.  He participated in his high school and college athletic teams, football, basketball and track. In college, he ran long distances, even in the cold midwest winters where the wind blew from all directions. He had a beautiful voice and sang in the College Acapella choir and later in the First Presbyterian Church’s choir as an adult, sometimes belting out the hymns so loudly we would giggle in the pews. He graduated from Tarkio High School in 1962, graduated summa cum laude from Tarkio College in 1966, spent a semester abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris, and married the love of his life, Georgia Ann Martin, two years later.  He studied political science at Southern Illinois University and earned a masters and PhD in 1972.  During his doctoral studies, he spent a year in the Philippines as a Rotary Scholar.  He then joined the Political Science faculty at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, where he would spend the next thirty-seven years raising a family and cultivating community.  

David was a modern day Renaissance man: a professor, a radio host, a political pollster, a builder, and an entrepreneur.  He joked he might have been the first PhD to hold an irrigator’s  license in the state of Texas. Mister Mister Irrigation began in his backyard when he wanted to customize his sprinklers for his ever expanding garden. He designed and built his colonial style home (as his darling wife requested), and rebuilt it again when a tornado struck in 1979.   His friends and colleagues started a political campaign company, Research Associates, to help elect progressive leaders and amplify important causes.  He also loved to fly small planes and taught ground school flying for new pilots.  He credited learning to fly with helping him build confidence as a dyslexic academic. He hosted over 4,000 radio shows called The Community Spotlight that showcased local people, events, and issues. We like to think of him as an original podcaster. He served on the board of First Step, a shelter for domestic violence survivors, was board member of KIDZ TV PBS in Wichita Falls, head of the American flag program for the Rotary Club of Wichita Falls, was a Malone Fellow on the Council of US-Arab Relations, honored as a Danforth Foundation Fellow, and served as an elder and stated clerk for First Presbyterian Church in Wichita Falls.  Professionally he taught political science, criminal justice, and public administration before becoming the administrator of the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences program.  He was passionate about students pursuing a degree and worked endless hours mentoring and supporting college students to that end. 

He moved to Sun City to be closer to his Texas grandchildren after semi-retiring from Midwestern University. He quickly made friends with neighbors by joining the horticulture club and woodshop group, where he made wooden cars, cutting boards, and other items for his family and charitable organizations.  He frequently volunteered to show interested residents around the neighborhood in his golf cart when he wasn’t caring for his grandchildren and feeding them fresh green beans from his garden or traveling the world with his adventurous bride. He continued to teach online for Midwestern several years after he retired and traveled around Texas to teach law enforcement courses.

David Martin, ‘Papa 6’, was the most loving father and devoted husband. He instilled a deep commitment to service and community in his family and radiated joy wherever he went. He loved holding his wife’s hand, shuttling his daughters to school, and tickling his grandchildren and feeding them deviled eggs. Family dinners were a constant as were long winded history and political lessons, always grounded in service to your fellow man.  Summers and winters called his family to the mountains of New Mexico, Red River specifically, where we hiked, fished, and skied. The biannual migrations were memorable, although not always as fun as the destination. ”If we’re not on the road, we're not making time”, he loved to say.  Dad set up a TV and VHS player, as well as a small portable potty, in the “Good Times” van. Our dad valued family time–and efficiency, to the chagrin of his daughters who were forced to use a porta-potty in the back of the van.  While the last few years were tough, we all felt his love as it informed everything he did.  He was a man who lived his values.  A lifetime of giving and loving, of generosity and caring is a life well lived–and our dad, husband, father, friend, and advocate lived a radiant life. 

James David Martin died on November 12th, 2023 surrounded in love. He is survived by his wife, G-Ann Martin, of 55 years, us, his two daughters, Jenna Martin and Jamie Martin, and our husbands, Tal Tversky and Kyle Kunkle, and his six grandchildren, Adele, Flora, Hazel, and Leo Tversky of Austin and Lyla and Cooper Kunkle of Denver.  We miss him dearly, but feel his presence and legacy daily. 

In remembrance of David’s life and legacy, our family asks that charitable donations be made to the James David Martin Scholarship fund at Midwestern State University. The money towards this fund will go to an endowed scholarship for a student in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science program, a program that offers adult learners to complete their college education through career focused curriculum with a multidisciplinary approach.  Donations may be made directly through this LINK or sent to Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft Blvd, Wichita Falls, Texas 76308. Please write “James David Martin Scholarship Fund” in the note section. 

 

With love, 

 

Jenna and Jamie Martin

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A Celebration of Life will be held on April 20, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Georgetown, Texas,  703 S Church St, Georgetown, TX 78626 with a reception will follow.  

More details announced here soon.