Richard H. Martin, 91
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. â€' Richard Hall Martin, 91, of Interlaken Road died Saturday, April 11, 2009, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.
Born in Springfield on July 11, 1917, son of Harold T. and Mable Casey Martin, he graduated from West Springfield High School in 1935 and worked for Day Lumber Company in West Springfield for three years before enrolling in the School of Forestry at Oregon State College.
An Army Air Forces veteran of World War II, he enlisted on July 18, 1941, and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant on Oct. 22, 1945. During more than four years of service, he received the Air Medal and two bronze oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, bronze battle stars for campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France and Germany, and the American Defense and European-African-Middle Eastern Service medals.
Mr. Martin was employed as a wholesale lumber salesman for more than 50 years, first for Guernsey Westbrook Lumber Co. in West Hartford, Conn., and then for Plunkett-Webster Lumber Co. in New Rochelle, N.Y., calling on sawmills and lumber yards throughout the Northeast. He and his wife, the former Patricia Dimock, were longtime members of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors.
He was a member and former deacon of Stockbridge Congregational Church. He was a longtime member of the Stockbridge Golf Club and served for many years on the board of Lee Bank. He was a member of Masonic Occidental Lodge AF&AM and the York Rite Bodies. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for having been a Mason for more than 50 years. He also was a member of Aleppo Shriners of Springfield and an honorary life member of Sphinx Shriners in Newington, Conn.
An avid skier, Mr. Martin was a charter member of the Blanford Ski Club and continued to ski until he was 85. He also loved to sail, and he and his wife spent many years sailing Fishers Island Sound in front of their cottage in Stonington, Conn.
He and his wife, originally of Bolton, Conn., were married Oct. 16, 1948, in Manchester, Conn.
Besides his wife, he leaves a son, Robert T. Martin and his wife, Mary, of East Haddam, Conn.; a daughter, Patricia Marchand and her husband, Gene, of Coventry, Conn., and three much loved grandchildren, Casey Martin, Sarah Marchand and Matthew Marchand.
FUNERAL NOTICE â€' A service celebrating the life of Mr. Martin will be held on Saturday, April 18, at 11 from First Congregational Church of Stockbridge. There will be no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Stockbridge Library or to First Congregational Church in Stockbridge through Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.