William Richard Martin

Dec. 9, 1918 — Dec. 29, 2014

William Richard Martin was born in Denver, son of Asa and Myrtle Dow Martin, the eldest of five children.

He was an intelligent, cheerful man who loved his family above all else. He nearly always had a big smile on his face, even when pulling weeds.

Bill was selected to enter Annapolis upon high school graduation but elected to join the Navy and go through boot camp with his high school buddies. He became a Pharmacist and worked his way up, earning a commission. He was a great athlete, excelling in football, baseball and basketball, and later took up the game of golf. He was always ready to play sports and card games with his seven grandsons and clean their trout on camping trips.

Bill was noted for his percussion excellence. He taught hundreds of kids to read and play drum music over a span of 60 years. Some of his students have become part-time professional musicians, including most of his grandsons. He always told his students, “Have fun playing music, but keep your day job.” This advice had been passed on to him by his uncle, “Dude” Martin, a violinist with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Dude was a chiropractor by day. Bill was always ready to fill in for a fellow musician, which led him to play for notables such as Billie Holiday and Frankie Avalon. In addition to playing weekend gigs in various bands, including the Whidbey Island Roadrunners, while living in California he formed the Martinettes, a junior drum corps and girls’ drill team, and led the group to nine California State Championships. When the group was disbanded and became the Concord Blue Devils, he remained as percussion teacher for two years, until a suitable replacement was found. This corps has won more International Championships than any other corps.

Bill met his wife, Martha, at a dance on Thanksgiving 1939, and they became a professional dance team, a la “Dancing With the Stars,” starting on Valentine’s Day 1940.

After surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bill, who was a crewman on the badly damaged battleship Tennessee, became a member of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and was involved in more action. A year and half later, he returned to San Diego, and he and Martha were married Feb. 14, 1944.

After leaving the navy, he continued his education at University of California, Berkeley, and worked 31 years in environmental health.

After retiring, the Martins bought property in Langley in 1975. Bill discovered a new interest, designing and conducting tours to Europe and the South Pacific. This the couple did for 18 years, and following these adventures, he returned to teaching kids. When he retired from teaching, at age 90, he had 22 students. He was one of the first people featured as a “Hometown Hero.”

Langley survivors include Martha, his wife of more than 70 years; daughter Gennie and son Terry. There are seven grandsons, Byron Wilson, Garrett Martin, Nick Yacono, Alex, Travis, Daniel and Lucas Martin; and great-grandson, Session Martin, son of Garrett.

At Bill’s request, there will be only a gravesite service at Tahoma Cemetery.