Helen Martin of Pacific Grove passed away October 4, 2020 of natural causes after a long battle with autoimmune issues. Helen was born in Summit, NJ on October 9, 1929 to parents, Ainsworth and Louise Buck of Montclair, NJ. When she was a small child, her parents separated, and she was taken in and raised by her grandmother, Helen (Minie) Buck.
They relocated to the Asbury Park area of the Jersey Shore where, after graduating from Asbury Park High School in 1947, Helen attended a local Junior College then went to work at nearby Ft. Monmouth. There she met a young 2nd Lt. fresh out of the Signal Corps OCS named James J. Martin who was the ADC to the Commandant of the Signal School. They dated for a few months then he was reassigned to Germany in late 1953. Many letters later he finally convinced her that they should get married, so in early April she set sail for Germany and on April 24, 1954 they were married in Boeblingen, Germany first at Noon on Saturday by the local Burgomeister then a few hours later by the Battalion Minister at the Chapel of the Panzer Kaserne where Lt. Martin's unit was headquartered. Afterwards there was champagne at the Officer's Club, then dinner at the Hotel Stuttgart then a four hour drive to Rotenburg an der Tauber where they spent their three day honeymoon at the Goldener Hirsch Hotel before returning to Koblenz where Lt. Martin was the Detachment Commander of the unit furnishing command communications between the II French Corps and the 7th US Army. It was a grand start to 66+ years spent raising a wonderful family and traveling the world under the pretense of working and having a fantastic adventure.
Children: Linda Mullaney (Rob) 1955 - Benicia, CA. - Spencer, Shannon & Lucas
Susan Lesley Martin 1959 - Bainbridge Island, WA - (Deceased)
Pamela Ann Shekell (Rick) - 1959 - Pacific Grove, CA - Rachel
Beverly Carol Martin (James) - 1963 - Bainbridge Island, WA
James Bradley Martin (Wendy) - 1970 - Lafayette, CA – Max & Violet
Helen could be funny with a keen, dry wit, but she could also be bitingly honest. She was not religious in the formal sense, but she had strong moral values and walked to her own drumbeat. She had a very close rapport with animals and children. She abhorred exercise and formal structure or airs, and she felt that weeds were just native plants. Many of our plantings were done just to feed the deer and other animals. With her failing eyesight limiting her ability to read, Helen found other outlets primarily traveling and sitting on the front patio overlooking the Monterey Bay with friends and a glass of Chardonnay. She strongly supported the Monterey SPCA and St. Jude Children Hospital plus many other charities. On her next journey, I am sure she will stop at the Rainbow Bridge to visit Bailey all of our other past pets. May she have wonderful trip!
Due to Covid-19 there will be no services at this time. Burial will be private at El Carmelo Cemetery.
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