Obituary of John Leo Martin

John Leo Martin, the eldest of Mary Harty and Leo Dennis Martin's three children, was born on January 7, 1925 in Fort Dodge Iowa. He had a sister, Marilyn Bray, and a brother, Jim, both deceased. As a young boy, John loved to play the trumpet, and he looked forward to working with his dad and playing baseball. After graduating from high school, John served in World War II as a combat engineer. He returned from Europe and attended the University of Iowa. He was accepted to medical school, but ultimately pursued his true calling in the School of Education. He dedicated the next 40 years to children. In 1947, he met Maureen McGivern (Micky) at a Newman Club dance. A year later, they were married. In 1950, John and Micky and their year-old daughter drove from Iowa to Coronado, California, where John accepted his first teaching job, instructing junior high school students in science and mathematics. In 1952, John accepted a job teaching at Hillview School in Menlo Park and later became the school's principal. John served as a math consultant for the Palo Alto School District, the principal of Sonoma Elementary School in Livermore, the principal of Terman Jr. High in Palo Alto, and finished out his impressive career with a 25 year stint in the PAUSD district office as the Assistant Superintendent in charge of Curriculum. A loving husband and father, John was devoted to his family. He is survived by his wife, Micky, and his six children: Ann Sonne (Scott) of Coronado, Chris (Beth) of Palo Alto, Mary Henry, M.D. (Clarke) of Mission Hills, KS, Kathy Collado (John) of Houston, TX, Jay of Palo Alto, and TJ (Suzanne), also of Palo Alto, 17 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. John was a man of great faith. Active in Our Lady of the Rosary Church, he was a longtime lector and led the singing at daily mass. He was also his grandchildren's number one fan in all of their activities. John loved parties and people and was always the last one on the dance floor. A poster child for the Greatest Generation, John Martin was a humble man of extraordinary character and energy. He valued family, faith, honor and personal responsibility and lived his life accordingly. He will be deeply missed. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 22, 2014. Services for John Martin will be held on Saturday, September 27, at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 3233 Cowper, Palo Alto. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Palo Alto Community Fund, PO Box 50634, Palo Alto, CA 94303 or the charity of your choice.




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