Glenn Dale Martisek

Glenn Dale Martisek, age 74, passed away in his sleep early in the morning on February 6, 2021 in Friendswood, Texas. Glenn was born in Hallettsville, Texas on September 18,1946 to Rudolph A. Martisek and Evelyn Koncaba Martisek. He lived in Hallettsville for 12 years on the family farm. In 1958, the family moved to Orange Dale/Beeville when his father was transferred for his job with Singer Oil Company. His mother was a nurse with the county. In 1964 Glenn left home and came to Friendswood, Texas. He lived with his Uncle Ken Koncaba and worked various jobs in the city. In 1965 Glenn was drafted and entered into the Vietnam War after choosing to serve with the United States Marine Corps. He began his active duty in Da Nang, Vietnam as a private-1st class during the Tet Offensive and was discharged from active duty as a sergeant in May 1969. While in Vietnam, he supervised a mobile contact team which consisted of ten Marine machinists. The men maintained and repaired services on large artillery and military equipment vehicles located in South Vietnam. Glenn was a very skilled individual with a high mechanical aptitude. During the summer of 1969, Glenn went to work for NASA as a contracted machinist. It was during this time period that he met his wife (Geraldine Nowak) while both were attending college and working at NASA concurrently. They were married April 11, 1970.

From 1974 to 1976, and again from 1998 to 2004, Glenn was a part of the United States Air Force Reserves, 924th Combat Support Squadron. He served as the Social Actions Drug and Alcohol Technician. In 1978 to 1984, he was a member of the Texas Air National Guard Reserves, 147th Civil Engineering Flight at Ellington, AFB. While still serving his country, Glenn taught Manufacturing Processes for a semester at the University of Houston, central campus in 1974 and industrial for one semester at Seabrook Intermediate School in Clear Creek ISD. He also worked at Friendswood High School from 1974 to 1976 and again from 1979 to 1981. Glenn taught the ICT (Industrial Cooperative Training) class. He was very influential and well-liked among the students he taught.

Throughout the course of his life, he obtained numerous certifications at his various jobs. All of them centered around training or teaching of some kind. After the war, he attended Alvin Community College and University of Houston where he received his B.S. in Industrial Education, and then Prairie View A&M University where he received a Masters of Education in Industrial Education. In 1981, he went to work for Reed Tool Company in Houston as a training supervisor. He held numerous certifications within the industry for quality control and problem-solving analysis.

From 1976 to 1980, Glenn sold real estate for Workman Realty and also Century 21. In the 1990’s, he worked for RE/MAX – Friendswood Pearland realty earning the award of top seller of the month several times. He eventually broke off and started his own real estate LLC, Morning Star Realty. In 2002, Glenn returned to teaching where he worked at Kempner High School in Fort Bend ISD. He taught an instructional technology class until he completely retired from education in 2010.

Glenn was a father of 4 children, but his reputation as a provider and care-taker for all living creatures will live in our hearts for many years. He was always an animal lover as a child and into adulthood. Most times, he would find animals in need of rescue. This applied to dogs, cats, birds, fish, and turtles. But Glenn didn’t stop there. He opened his home to foreign exchange students, the homeless and other teens whose only options were court-ordered juvenile facilities because they could not live at home anymore. His natural affinity to reach out and help, often going beyond his means, assisting those that needed grace was a telling response to the grace he himself received driving home from work one afternoon in the mid 1980’s. Moving through radio stations, he stumbled upon a program by J. Vernon McGee on KHCB (Keeping Him Close By) radio station. Glenn accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior by following the sinner’s prayer that day on the radio.

Glenn’s devotion to the Christian faith created momentous waves of change in his family that led to their salvation and subsequent livelihoods that were filled with Bible verses, family Bible readings, church camps, and missions trips. He made friends with devout believers and often attended multiple Bible studies throughout the week. He began working for a prison ministry at the Derrington unit outside of Houston. He also became a Sunday school teacher for the children’s ministry at Sagemont church. Glenn’s passion for spreading the love of Jesus was evident to his family. His favorite color became red, the color of the blood that was shed for sin.

Glenn is survived by his wife Geraldine Nowak Martisek, his 4 children, Danna Stensgaard(Tom), David Martisek(Amber), Laura Branam (Jeff), Bryan Martisek(Haley) and three grandchildren Taylor and Jacob Stensgaard and Angelica Martisek.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters – Yvonne Dodd and Mary Zander.

Visitation will be Thursday, February 11, 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Services will be Friday, February 12, 10:00 am. with internment following at Forest Park East Cemetery, 21620 Gulf Freeway, Webster, Texas.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to KHCB Radio Station (Houston), and Thru the Bible Radio.

Glenn loved the color red as it was a reminder of the shed blood of his Lord and Savior, JESUS. To honor his love, please wear red at his celebration of life.

Live streaming will be available at https://www.facebook.com/ForestParkEast/ or click the join livestream below at the time of the service. And please share fond memories and expressions of sympathy below for the Martisek family.