Martin Coleman Pannell

Martin Coleman Pannell, 90, of Conover died on August 28, 2023 and will be laid to rest at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Claremont, NC at 10:30 AM on Saturday the 2nd of September. The Claremont Cemetery is just a few blocks east of his birthplace. Martin was born late in the night of January 9, 1933, in the front room of a two story wood frame house on Main Street-directly across from Claremont’s two Lutheran Churches, Mt. Calvary and St. Marks. Coleman as he was known growing up was the last of 3 boys of Martin Luther Pannell and Annie Elizabeth Sigmon Pannell. His birth completed the family of Luther and Annie with two older brothers, Leiter and Charles. Unfortunately, just after 18 months his father was gone by way of a truck accident in July 1934. Annie would not remarry and went to work in the hosiery mills, and she raised Martin and his brothers with the help of the Claremont community, Luther’s family, and her own. But as he was known to say, “helped by everyone along the way.”

Martin’s life growing up in Claremont in the 1930’s and 1940’s offered opportunities for a complete education. There was the Claremont Pool Room, the two Lutheran Churches and of course the school, still 12 grades in those days. By the end of 1945 Leiter had gone off and survived the war in the Pacific and Charles was married with a family so in many ways Martin had the sole attention of his mother. His odyssey was the summer of 1951 when he and classmate Billy “Sky” Bost (later in life the winning coach Bill Bost of Bandy’s High School) hitchhiked west to Arkansas in hopes of making some money working in the strawberry fields. It did not turn out as planned like many larks of young folks. You had to know somebody to get that kind of work apparently and they did not. So, they started home with little money and ended up stranded for two days in Avilla, Missouri. However, on the way home they were able to catch the Saturday night Opry in Nashville. He wrote about that until his last years.

He was baptized at home by Mt. Calvary Rev. Bruce Sigmon in the living room of the house of his birth and later confirmed at Mt. Calvary. With the guidance (and truancy checks) of educators such as Charlie Tuttle, he completed his public-school education in 1951 and went on to Lenoir Rhyne College that fall. There he met his future wife the late Nancy Ruth Mauney of Bessemer City. He credited “his beautiful wife” for the quality of his life - “the wind beneath his wings.” Martin enlisted in the US Air Force in 1953 but before leaving he and Nancy secretly eloped to Gaffney South Carolina in order to not disappoint her daddy who she promised she wouldn’t marry before graduating. Upon graduation from OCS and earning his wings as a 2nd Lt. he was joined in Texas by Nancy and the “official” with family marriage occurred on September 4th, 1954. So, for many years that was the assumed anniversary date of the marriage with no one the wiser -at least those in the family-until Martin confessed about the two marriages later in life. Martin’s Air Force time took him from Texas to Langley Field in Hampton, Virginia. There he logged over 600 hours of jet flight time as radar observer in what he called a Cold War F-94 jet fighter. Discharged in August 1957 Martin, with Nancy and first child Monroe in tow, traveled back to North Carolina in the fall of 1957 to complete his education.

If you can’t go to Duke go to Carolina! He desired to attend Duke on an accelerated program (a 3-2 program that would allow him to complete undergrad and law school in 3 years). The admissions officer at Duke reviewed his L-R transcript and then kindly suggested he might not be material for the program at Duke. So Martin told Nancy “Let’s grab the boy (Monroe) and drive over to Chapel Hill”. There he was able to do just that, finish law school, and pass the bar by the end of August 1960. A recipient of a Richardson Foundation Fellowship, Martin spent his first year after law school working for Congressman Charles R. Jonas of Lincoln County as an aid. The move to Washington was only for a year. By that time the family had Robert and Margaret Elizabeth to add to Monroe. Young Elizabeth would not survive the year in Washington. She died after a brief illness, January 1961, at 13 months.

Back to Catawba County in 1961. After the year in Washington, they returned to Catawba County. He was extremely fortunate to become associated with attorney Richard A. Williams, Sr (Wake Forest ’49), a Maiden native with a law office in downtown Newton. Their partnership would last for 26 years until the beginning of 1988. Martin said of Richard: “His reputation for all things good gave me a similar standing I could never have achieved in one lifetime.” Martin was always proud of his association with the Williams family having later also practiced with Richard’s son Alex when he joined the firm in 1978. Martin completed his 60 year legal career with a 32-year association with his son Monroe who maintains the law office in Conover.

Much of Martin’s legal career was in the public arena. For almost 49 years he was Conover City Attorney, and his firm continued that representation for 57 years. He represented Catawba County as County Attorney (1970-1974). He was a public servant and was thankful for his opportunity in Conover for work to establish the city’s boundaries through annexation - “assuring its place as a [viable] town” with the leadership of Mayors Brown and Eckard and Managers Robinette and Beasley with their competent staff. He also took pride in leading Catawba County to be the first in the area to pass countrywide zoning in 1974 with little fanfare or resistance. Many times, over the years folks would come into the office complaining about some zoning ordinance they believed unfairly restricted the use of their property. Martin might say if appropriate-“Well if you are not in favor of zoning you ought to move to Lincoln County.” He understood better than most such regulations benefit a community. At other times he represented the towns of Claremont and Taylorsville. The family believes that Martin’s view of the body politic can be summed up as follows: If a snowstorm paralyzes the town, you clear the streets in the poorest sections of town first.

Politics: Martin and Nancy were active in Republican politics until the late 1980’s. Martin’s first real foray was campaign manager for the congressional campaign of Carroll R. Barringer. That was in the fall of 1962, about the same time the fourth and last child of the family was born-Leah Dorothy. Carroll was not elected and maybe that was good as for sure the family might have been called back to Washington. There were many campaigns to follow, some years not so successful (1964 and 1974) and others very much so...1966, 1968 and especially 1972 when North Carolina elected its first Republican Governor in over 70 years, the late James Holshouser a law school classmate of Martin. Martin worked so hard in that campaign he got called to Raleigh on election day eve to help out on some matters of ballot security, so he did not vote on election day as he was not in the county (no early voting in those days).

Mr. Pannell believed that an obituary should at least acknowledge one failure and this one does. He regretted many years later for not having the vision to push for the county to secure more public access to Lake Norman during his tenure as County Attorney. He knows it could have been done if folks like him had exercised some vision. He was a critic of himself and all things (looking for the best) and felt obligated to share his view he thought in the public interest to the chagrin of many. On a lighter note he had notorious penmanship and bless all the assistants that had to interpret “Pannellese” as Conover staff coined it.

On the other hand, he believed his greatest attribute was loyalty to friends. He liked to believe that if you were a friend and then each would be as Sherman and Grant… 'I knew wherever I was that you thought of me,'' Sherman wrote Grant in recalling their campaigns of 1862-63, ''and if I got in a tight place you would come - if alive.'' He and his friends enjoyed many good times with golf locally, Linville and Pompano.

Martin believed we are all created both saints and sinners. Some of his last remarks to a local pastor were that he liked her, but she did not preach enough fire and brimstone.

Mr. Pannell was predeceased by his parents, his wife of 63 years, Nancy, a daughter Margaret Elizabeth, and brothers Leiter Thomas and Charles Luther.

Survivors, all from Catawba County except as noted include sons, Monroe Pannell and Kathy Moose of Conover, Robert Pannell and Sherri Pannell of Harrisburg, daughter Leah Martin and Tim Martin of Conover; five grandchildren, Meredith Moose Huret, Vance Moose, Coleman Pannell and Margaret Martin, all of Conover, and Russell Pannell of Harrisburg; and four great-grandchildren.

Family expresses its appreciation to the caring staff at Conover Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Amorem (Hospice) and caregiver Kimberly Clark.

The family will receive at Drum Funeral Home, Conover, 509 1st Avenue South, on Friday, September 1, 2023 from 4:30 to 6:30. A graveside service honoring Martin will be officiated by the Rev. Mary Miller-Zurell and Rev. Dr. Richard Graf at 10:30 AM Saturday, September 2, 2023, in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery East Main Street Claremont.

Memorials may be given to Eastern Catawba County Cooperative Ministry, [ECCCM] P.O. Box 31, Newton, NC 28658

From his personal letterhead at the bottom of the page:

Writer’s bio: Claremont boy; helped by everyone along the way-thank you; last 3-2 man at Chapel Hill Law, AB 1959, LLB 1960 and Holy Trinity Lutheran Student on campus; Vicks Chemical (Richardson Foundation) Fellow Capitol Hill 1960-61; USAF Cold War backseat RO in “ top gun” F-94C fighter inter; 60 year Catawba County lawyer ( rich widows need their own lawyer); dyslexic; knows about picking cotton until the cowbell rings; and “I played for Stas,” LRC 1951.