Lee Roy Martin

Lee Roy Martin was born in Owasso, Oklahoma on May 5th, 1930 to George and Agnes Martin. He was the youngest of eight children and maybe the most stubborn. His mother liked to tell the story of young Lee refusing to wash up for lunch. After she finally got him cleaned, he ran right back outside and smeared his face with dirt. Dad won the battle and ate dirt with his lunch. Along with being hard-headed, he was also a smart and a popular guy. In the first grade he won the book reading contest, finishing 60 books in the course of the school year. At age 10, he was the school champion in spelling. In high school he lettered in basketball, was the team captain and president of the senior class. According to the school paper, his favorite movie star was Esther Williams and his favorite past times were basketball and chasing girls. Through high school, Lee was mentored by his brother-in-law, Aaron. Aaron told Lee he should never take up smoking and he never did. Aaron taught him the basics of surveying. After graduation, Lee worked for a geophysical company as a surveyor in Wyoming until he was drafted by the Army and sent to Korea. After serving 18 months in a forward reconnaissance unit, he returned to the US and was hired by Sinclair Oil. Sinclair sent him to the oil patch in North Dakota. While working in Dickinson he met a nurse named Marge Gion at the diner in the Ray Hotel. After a two year courtship, they were married on February 28, 1957 at St. Mary's Church in Richardton, North Dakota. Lee and Marge came to Denver on their honeymoon and never left. Over the next ten years, they had six daughters and one son. Dad always loved to be active and didn't let all us kids slow him down. He packed us up in the station wagon for picnics in the mountains and road trips to visit family in North Dakota and Oklahoma. He flew us in his Cessna, sometimes for short afternoon rides and sometimes for longer trips to Yellowstone or Mount Rushmore. As we got older he took us skiing, ice skating and hiking 14ers. He always enjoyed running and participated in several road races. With several of his good buddies, Dad got into sky-diving, motor cycle riding, scuba diving, and sailing. You guys know who you are. As much as Dad liked to play, he worked even harder. For more than 50 years he was in the oil and gas business as a Petroluem Landman. He spent countless hours traveling, meeting with land owners, negotiating leases and shooting the bull with his cohorts over cups of coffee. He was well respected by his associates and made life-long friends. In my years in the industry, I’ve only ever heard complimentary words about him. Above all else in his life, dad was the one who took care—he took care of his family and took care of his friends, generously helping out whenever and however he could. My family all have their own stories of dad taking care of some thing that was troubling them. He didn't talk to us kids much about it, but over the years, his friends and colleagues have told us of the many times he was there for someone who needed a hand. Friends and family weren't the only ones he kept an eye out for. Dad always had a soft spot for the feathered and the four-legged. He joined the Future Farmers of America as a young boy, and considered veterinary school before getting into the oil business. He took care of family pets and strays, and fed the wild birds and squirrels in the yard—he’d say, “time to feed the livestock.” Dad was out running once and came across a distressed mallard. When he realized that the duck’s mate had been hit by a car, he retrieved the body to show the drake and keep him from going out into the street. As he got older, dad took to keeping food, water and shelter on the front porch for any cats that happened by, and finally acquired a devoted cat named Scarlett, who loved to nap on the couch with him. Yesterday, all seven of his children spent the day together remembering him, laughing, and celebrating his life and just that is a testament to the values of loyalty and love he instilled in us. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Hermine (Marge) Martin, his children Cindy Martin, Lisa Williams (Paul), Joan Sanders (Robin), Susan Martin, Anita Martin, John Martin, and Mary Roundtree (John), eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Dad would say he had a good life.