Gordon William Martin, Jr
November 21, 1918 - August 25, 2007
Obituary
Gordon William MARTIN
LCdr. U.S.N. Ret
Born November 21, 1918 in Seattle, WA, died August 25, 2007. Gordon leaves his loving and devoted wife of 59 years Dorothy Lee Haggerty Martin; daughter Deborah Lee Jeffrey, Seattle; son G. William Martin, San Leandro, CA and grandson Jeremy William Martin, San Leandro, CA. His parents were Gordon W. Martin, SR and Emma W. Schultz Martin, both deceased. He was a graduate of Madrona Grade School, Garfield High School, University of Washington, Western Washington University, Navy ROTC and crew at UW. Gordon was a member of UW Alumni Assoc., Western Washington Alumni Assoc., MOA National and Local, member WEA State, National LSM, LSMR Assoc., Western Region LSM, LSMR Assoc., member Garfield Grads, and member of Lake Burien Presbyterian Church. Gordon retired from the U.S. Navy after 20 years of service; he taught mathematics for high school students in the Highline School district for 15 years and sold real estate for Century 21 for 3 years. He and his wife traveled in their motor home. They enjoyed dancing: rock, swing and country. His hobbies included fishing, hiking, horseback trail riding and hunting. He and his wife enjoyed several cruises in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and also up and down the Mexican Coast. They both enjoyed the annual reunions of the ships they had been on. After graduating from the UW NROTC, he reported for duty at Training Station Newport, RI on Battleship USS Massachusetts and saw his first action when his ship sank the Battleship Jean Bart at Casablanca Nov. 1942. He reported to COMSOPAC at Neumea, Caledonia. Fleet Admiral Halsey accepted Lt. Martin to serve on his staff. Lt. Martin was ordered to PCO Training at Little Creek, VA and then on Aug. 3, 1944 to command USS LSM 233. He saw action at Leyte Gulf and Lingayen Gulf where the 40 mm guns shot down a Japanese Betty. After the surrender, the LSM 233 was ordered back to San Francisco for decommissioning. He accepted a commission in the regular Navy and reported to Guantanamo as Chief of Staff LST Squadron Two, attended General Line School, Newport, RI, then took Command of LSM Division Twenty One at Little Creek, VA. It was during his ships visit of Baltimore, MD he met and later married his wife. Prior to his retirement in 1961, he was Exec. and CO of Hugh Purvis DD 709, CO USS Bowers, APD 40 Staff CINCLANFLT, Office of Naval Research, Wash. DC, MSTS Anchorage, AK, Staff Western Sea Frontier and Columbia River Group, Astoria, OR. Committal ceremony with full military honors at 1:45 PM Thursday, August 30, 2007 at Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 – S.E. 240th Street, Kent. Please sign the online memorial guestbook at www.bonneywatson.com.
Dottie and Children, So sorry to hear about the death of Gordon. You all are in our thoughts and prayers. You both had a wonderful life together and he will always be in your heart and memories.
Dear Dorothy,
We are Thousand Trails members, and we met you and Gordon several times at the La Conner preserve. We were the trumpet and keyboard musicians who provided special armed forces/patriotic programs. We remember you and Gordon for your positive response. He always came up afterwards to express his appreciation for our effort. We looked out at the audience, and when he was there, with his wonderful smile, it warmed our hearts. We send you our love, our sympathy and best wishes.
Sorry to hear about Uncle Gordy’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Sad to say my husband passed away on Monday, August 27th, and I was unable to attend the service. Blessings to you all.
Carol and family
God bless you and your family, Dorothy.
We are sending our love, prayers, and thoughts to each of you. We thought a great deal of Gordon. Our family will miss his visits, his ideas, and his mischievous smile. He was a great brother-in-law. We wish that we could be with you at this time. Take care and call us any time. Love you.