Sam Martin

Eugene Samuel “Sam” Martin was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 16, 1936 and passed away February 28, 2016 while in hospice. Sam was preceded in death by his parents, Howard C. and Ruth Marjorie Fisher Martin; his son, James Samuel “Jimmy” Martin; his sister, Maryellen Brown and his aunt, Dorothy Elizabeth Fisher. He is survived by his wife, Marian L. Martin, his son, Daryl Eugene Martin of Wheat Ridge, Colorado; daughters Sharon Marie Martin and Marcella Ruth Safe of Arvada, Colorado; grandsons Colton James Safe and Joel Wyatt Safe and sons in law David Alan Safe and Robert Alan McCoy of Arvada, Colorado.

Sam’s family moved to Wheat Ridge, Colorado when he was 10 years old and he grew up on Wadsworth Blvd. He went to Wheat Ridge High School. While attending Wheat Ridge High School Sam was well liked. He was a runner, a basketball player, a tennis player and a skier. After high school Sam went to Pueblo Junior College for a couple of years and then transferred to Colorado State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management. After college, Sam moved to Pittsburgh, Kansas and then on to Glasgow, Montana because he was the project manager for Woolworths building new stores. After several years, he came back to Wheat Ridge and became a mason taking over a masonry business. He started crafting fireplaces and then moved on to house facades and then to building whole entire homes. He built a total of 26 homes and crafted a multitude of fireplaces all over the Denver area. Sam taught Cost Accounting and Blueprinting at Red Rocks Community College at night. After a while, he wanted a steadier income and so became a Review Appraiser for Housing Urban Development in Denver for over 25 years. He also gave his time to the City of Wheat Ridge working on the Building Codes Commission for 25 years. Sam was a hard working and dedicated employee and volunteer.

Sam met Marian in 1962 and soon they were married. They had 4 children who all went to Wheat Ridge High School and on to college. Sam coached his son’s baseball teams, soccer team and football teams. He was an avid skier who passed his passion for skiing on to all of his children. He loved to ski Mary Jane and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We would take yearly trips to Jackson Hole and weekend day trips to Mary Jane. He definitely worked hard and played hard. He was not one to leave a minute unscheduled until his catastrophic stroke in 1990. Since then he rested and relaxed.

Sam will always be remembered for the following things,

1. His work ethic.

2. His tenacity and perseverance.

3. His “I got a question.”

4. His love of dogs, Maddie, Cassie and Gunner and his love of Tank. He gave the dogs “cookies” every chance he got.

5. His beautiful fireplaces.

6. His ability to ski bumps.

Sam will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Sam's name to the American Heart Association, 1777 S. Harrison St, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80210, phone: (303) 801-4630.