Robert Lee Martin

On the morning of Monday, March 16, 2020, the world lost an amazing man when Bob Martin passed on peacefully to meet his savior, Jesus Christ.  Robert Lee Martin was born on June 27, 1946, in Lake City, Iowa to Gladys and Louis Martin.  From the day he was born, and for the remainder of his life, Bob found himself in constant company and would never meet a stranger.  Bob, or Bobby as his friends often called him, grew up in Woodward, Iowa with his older sisters, Marilyn and Kay, his younger sister Karen, and his twin brother Bill.  It was in his youth he fell in love with sports, as he spent most of his time playing them.  As a teenager, he moved with his family to Marshalltown where he remained until he graduated from high school in 1964.  After high school, he joined the Navy and served on the Franklin D. Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier stationed in New Jersey, for two years.  While serving in the Navy he continued to do the things he loved most; playing softball and spending time with his friends.  On June 7, 1969, he married the only woman he had ever dated: Sandra Henson.  He graduated from Drake University in 1973 with a degree in education.  Bob coached softball for one summer in Boone Valley in Renwick, Iowa before moving to Columbus Junction where he would begin and end his teaching career.  Bob taught Social Studies and coached various sports at Columbus Community High School from 1973 until he retired in 2004.  Bob’s passion for sports never went away.  Bob coached softball, baseball, basketball, golf, and football – where he would tell you that Warren Woepking just entrusted him to hold the tee.  Columbus became much more than a place for Bob to teach or coach sports though; it became home. 

Bob’s family included his wife and three children: Sandra, Jeff, Michelle, and Vicky.  While there are often arguments among the three children over who was the “favorite,” it was easy for anyone to see that he loved all of his children more than anything and there was not a thing he wouldn’t do for them.  Then again, there was not a person Bob met that he would not talk to or help when it was needed.  After retiring from teaching, Bob continued doing the things he loved most: coaching and making new friends.  Whether Bob was giving pitching lessons to his two daughters, aspiring elementary softball players, or helping Highland High School’s softball team win a state championship, he left a positive impact on everyone he met.  When Bob wasn’t coaching, he would often be found travelling the Midwest to watch his children, his grandchildren, or others he taught, play sports.  Bob went out of his way to help anybody he met, whether in sports or other aspects of life, and many people would tell you that Bob Martin was their biggest supporter. 

Bob will be missed immensely by many, but especially by his wife, Sandra, his children Jeff (Amy), Michelle (Josh), and Vicky (Sean), his siblings, Bill, Kay and Karen, and his grandchildren Bryce, Rachel, Bailey, Brady, Tanner, Isaac, Cambree, and Aiden.

 Bob was preceded in death by his parents Louis and Gladys Martin and his siblings Jackie Lee Martin and Marilyn Ann Moses. 

Bob would not want us to be sad though, he would instead ask that someone fill his seats in the stands at various sporting events, go out of their way to help others in need, chat for hours with every person they see in a grocery store or other public places, or maybe even buy a car or two so his friends at the local dealerships don’t get lonely-somebody needs to buy car #55!

Private services will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.  A recording of the service will be posted on www.sandhfuneralservice.com when available.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Youth For Christ in Columbus Junction in memory of Bob.  The Snyder and Hollenbaugh Funeral and Cremation Services of Columbus Junction, formerly the Stacy-Lewis Funeral Home is caring for Bob’s family.  Online condolences may be left at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

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