Bill Martin

Bill was born on January 23, 1949 in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in Philadelphia, PA, in 1966, from La Salle College in Philadelphia, PA in 1970 with a degree in Business Administration and from the University of Notre Dame in 1972 with a MBA.

While attending La Salle College, Bill was introduced to Shelly Cooker, of Westmont, NJ, by a fraternity brother who was dating, and later married, Shelly’s sister, Kathy. Bill and Shelly went on their first date on New Year’s Eve 1968 and were married in August 1970. Shortly after, Bill began the MBA program at Notre Dame.

After graduation from Notre Dame, Bill and Shelly moved to Michigan, where he worked for Chrysler Automotive and then Touche Ross, which took them back to New Jersey. In 1982, Bill left Touche Ross to begin a long career in private equity with Holding Capital Group in NYC. Bill’s work with Holding Capital eventually took Bill and his family to Irving, TX in 1984 and then in 1996 to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he ran SV Microwave as its CEO until its acquisition by Amphenol Corporation in May 2005. Bill retired from SV Microwave in 2007. In the past few years, Bill was very involved in both TEC and BizPac Review organizations in South Florida.

Bill and his wife traveled extensively. Favorite destinations included Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as visiting his sons and grandchildren in California and Massachusetts. Bill carried on this love for travel with his grandchildren, taking each of them on a trip to a destination of their choice. He explored London with Ella, both London and Paris with Alex, New York City with Patrick and most of Southern California with Andrew, including a tour of the Navy Seal facility in Coronado, CA.

His sons remember Bill as the consummate coach, leading teams in baseball, basketball and soccer in almost every season. Bill loved coaching sports and is remembered as the only coach of youth basketball who wore a suit and tie to games. Since NBA and college coaches wore suits, Bill would do the same. Even in his retirement, Bill continued his passion for coaching, coaching his grandchildren in both basketball and softball.

People also knew Bill as a die hard Notre Dame sports fan. Over the years, Bill attended more than 20 Notre Dame games, including a memorable Notre Dame win at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA, and an unfortunate Notre Dame loss in the 2012 National Championship game vs. Alabama.

Bill also was a very athletic person his whole life, running, biking and working out almost every day. For the past several years, Bill was involved in Krav Maga, earning the rank of a Green Belt in February 2017, and also trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kali, Escrima and Knife fighting.

Bill is survived by his wife, Shelly (Cooker), his two sons, Christopher and Brian, his daughters-in-law Claudia and Michele, his four grandchildren, Ella, Alexandra, Patrick and Andrew, and his brother, David. He is preceded in death by his father, William, and his mother, Florence Martin, of Philadelphia, PA.

The viewing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14th from 6:00-8:00pm at Aycock-Riverside Funeral Home in Jupiter, FL. A mass will be held on Thursday, March 15th at 10:30am at St. Patrick’s Church in Palm Beach Gardens, FL with a burial at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery in Royal Palm Beach, FL, followed by a reception at Spoto’s Oyster Bar in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Bill’s life.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation at http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.