Leroy S. Martin

Junction, Colorado. He was just a few weeks short of his 88th birthday, and 53rd

wedding anniversary. Lee was born on May 3, 1934 to Kenneth and Elsie

(Sommer) Martin, on the family’s homesteaded “S5” ranch near Kent, Oregon.

Lee attended grade school in Kent and graduated from Sherman County’s Moro

High School in 1952. He continued his education at Oregon State College (now

OSU) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and Wildlife Management,

and a minor in Journalism. Lee was a Sports Editor for OSC’s newspaper, The

Daily Barometer, and an honorary member of the Sigma Delta Chi fraternity (now

called the Society of Professional Journalists). He also belonged to the Delta Tau

Delta fraternity. After graduation in 1957, he served in the US Army and was

stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He was a decorated sharpshooter and received a

medal of Good Conduct.

After honorable discharge from the Army, Lee returned home to Sherman County

to work on the family cattle and wheat ranch near Kent. He married Catherine

Lanthorn in 1969. They joked that Lee’s dowry was his hunting buddies, and

Cathie’s was her horses. In 1972 they bought property east of the home ranch,

above the John Day River canyon. They raised two children, Bryan and Amy,

farmed dryland wheat and barley, and hunted big game and birds.

Lee served on local farm Co-Op and school ESD boards, and spent hours at the

local fair operating the Booster Club and Sherman County Scholarship booths. He

served on the county Budget Committee for many years and was a member of

Cattlemen and Wheat League. He was an enthusiastic and lifelong hunter and

fisherman, enjoying many annual adventures with his children and many hunting

friends. He was the inspiration for both of his children to attend and graduate from

OSU and start careers in the hunting industry. He was their biggest fan and

supporter, and offered many friends and strangers a “show and tell” session with

photo albums of their hunting adventures. Lee was a founding member of the

Oregon chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (now Oregon

Wild Sheep Foundation) in the late 1990’s, and served as president for two years.

Though Lee never drew an Oregon Bighorn sheep tag, he helped many sheep

hunters by providing area info for the John Day River herd.

He was an avid reader, enjoying books on Oregon history, hunting, World War II,

and many newspapers. To Lee, “A day without mail was a day without sunshine.”

Lee successfully avoided transitioning to computers, “e-mail” and texting. With his

outgoing personality he never met a stranger. When he officially retired from

farming he joked that the government paid him to do nothing, and he was good at

it! During their retirement, he and Cathie shared road trips to ten states, plus

international travel to France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Egypt,

Tanzania, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and Canada. An especially memorable

trip was to Sydney, Australia to cheer for their daughter and the USA Women’s

rowing team at the 2000 Olympic Games. Lee drove to many of his son’s hunting

conventions, and also visited his outfitting area in northern British Columbia,

Canada.

Lee and Cathie moved from the Kent farm to Redmond, Oregon in 2014, and then

to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2019 to be closer to their daughter and grand

children. Lee is preceded in death by his parents Kenneth and Elsie (Sommer)

Martin, his sister Sharon Martin, niece Tammy Martin, and many of his dearest

friends. He is survived by his wife Cathie, his children Bryan Martin and Amy

Shaffer (Daniel), his grandchildren Isabella and Aryona Shaffer, and his cherished

dog Bouncer. Extended surviving family includes nieces Wendy Freitag, Vicky

Martin, nephew Bob Martin, and cousins Deanna Padget, Donald “Butch” Martin,

Marcia Wirth, Gary and Byron Carlson, Marnene Wood and their families.

Lee’s final request was to return home to his beloved ranch above the John Day

River canyon in Oregon, where he can “glass” for bighorn sheep, mule deer, and

elk forever. Local announcements will be posted in social media and papers for

close friends and family who wish to attend a summertime memorial in Redmond,

and scattering of ashes on the ranch near Kent. In lieu of flowers and cards, the

family requests you consider donating to organizations Lee supported:

• Sherman County Historical Museum: https://www.shermanmuseum.org

• Oregon State University Foundation: www.give.ForOregonState.org (select

Women’s Crew Fund or College of Agricultural Sciences Student Success fund)

• Oregon Wild Sheep Foundation https://oregonfnaws.org/donate

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