Martin William Willette

Per his request, cremation rites will be accorded. The Runge Mortuary assisted the family.

A visitation will be held at Runge Mortuary in Davenport, Iowa on Saturday, January 27, 2024 from 9:30 am -12:30pm.

Marty was born in Oak Lawn, IL on January 21, 1944. He was the eldest son of William and Cecilia (Pocewicz) Willette.

He worked many jobs, most notably as a deckhand on the Mississippi for Williams Marine, for many years before retiring.

Marty was a gifted artist, writer and poet. During years of travel, he developed a love of writing and creating beautiful works of art. Over the years, Marty had created hundreds of pictures in different mediums, thousands of pages of beautiful writings and dozens of poems. He settled in Davenport, married and raised a family of seven children.

Those left to honor his memory include children: Alena (Gus) Kalamaris, Jason (Wendy) Willette, Alyesha (Phillip) Martinez, Tiana (Rich) Ponciano-Davis, Demian (Marga) Willette and Gregory (Casey) Willette; children’s mother, Kathleen Willette; grandchildren: Stephen, Kane, Isaiah, MaKenna, Matthew, Fanecia, Aiden, Bentley, Rowyn, Noah, Blair, Ian, and Lylith; siblings: Ralph Willette, Chris Pollard, Tom (Marilyn) Willette, Laura (Roger) Griffith; nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Gregory, sister-in-law, Sally, and son, Darian.

Martin was born on January 21, 1944 in Oak Lawn, Illinois and is the eldest of six children. He began his passion for reading when one of his favorite high school teachers introduced him to the great books. It was not unusual to find many open books lying around as Marty would become engulfed in one book that would eventually lure him to another and yet another. Marty continued his love of reading and learning in college. At one point, he became fascinated with the writings of Thomas Merton and considered becoming a Trappist Monk. As a junior in college he traveled to Austria to the Institute for European Studies where he became fluent in German and began to experience a true love of travel and adventure.

Upon returning home, he discovered his love of adventure and the need to follow the road less traveled would guide him to more amazing experiences. Feeling the need to explore, Marty hitchhiked all over the country, sometimes alone, sometimes with a friend. During his travels, he discovered his ability to express himself and to sort through his thoughts and ideas with drawing and writing.

After years of travel, Marty found himself in Davenport, Iowa where he met Kathleen, who would later become his wife. Marty and Kathie raised seven children in Davenport. Marty worked many interesting jobs throughout the years to support his growing family, including a deckhand on the barges that traveled the mighty Mississippi for many years. Marty would continue his love of drawing, using many mediums, as he grew and developed his unique style. His love of writing became even more of a focus and passion in later years and the pages in which he wrote would often seem like an old friend in which he could confide his deepest thoughts and ideas.

Even in his later years, you can find him smoking a cigarette, drinking coffee and pouring thoughts from the deepest corners of his mind onto pages of a book. His amazing adventures, thoughts and passions live in the intricate poetic words he has written, beautiful details of his artwork and in the minds and hearts of his children and grandchildren who adore him.