Louis John Martin

Louis John Martin, 84, of Citrus Springs, FL died on Saturday, December 14, 2019.

Lou was born in January 3, 1935. He was raised on a dairy farm in Plainview, MN. He graduated from Plainview High School in 1952. Lou proudly served his country as a paratrooper in the U.S Army Airborne from 1953-1956. After his military service, he worked for North Central Airlines in the snowy locations of International Falls, MN, Duluth, MN, and finally Chicago, IL.

Lou fled the nose-hair freezing temperatures and snow drifts of Minnesota in 1958 by driving south as far as he could. Lou ran out of gas money in St. Peteresburg, Florida and consequently stopped driving. It was there he met Mary Williams at a stoplight. Mary had come to Florida from Ashland Kentucky. She was looking for an adventure and found it in Lou.  After a whirlwind romance, they were married October 16, 1959 and remained in love and married for 60 years.

It was also in St. Petersburg that Lou began his career as a Fleet Service Mechanic for Florida Power. In 1981, Lou transferred to Dunnellon and continued to work for Florida Power until his retirement in 1995.  Lou was an active member of Sertoma of Dunnellon and a charter member at Dunnellon Moose Club.

When he wasn’t working or fixing anything that was broken, Lou enjoyed boating, fishing, and camping. On one memorable camping trip, he took his family from St. Petersburg to Fort Myers on a boat, by way of the Intercoastal Waters and then up the Caloosahatchee River to Lake Okeechobee.

Lou was a kind and extremely patient man. He never raised his voice at his grandchildren, even when one of them caught his ear with a hook as he was teaching her how to cast a fishing line from a jon boat. He was an active teacher in his grandchildren’s lives. He taught them how to shoot guns, drive a boat, fish, and golf. He taught them about good work ethic and demonstrated what dedication looked like in life and marriage. Lou was funny. He always had a new joke to tell and could never pass up a good yard sale or a bag of broken watch pieces that he could fix.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Emma Martin, his sisters, Earlene Asleson and Donna Searles, and his grandson, Jonathan Lowman.

He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Martin; his children: Angela (Frank) Lowman of New Port Richey, FL, Melanie (Rick) Kindred of Pinellas Park, FL, John Martin of Citrus Springs, FL; his sister Elaine Wurst, Lake City, MN; several nieces and nephews;  his grandchildren: Amanda Lowman, Sara Crocker, Matthew Kindred, Justin Kindred, Cassandra Martin, and Cally Martin; and three great grandchildren, Julianna Oyer, Zachary Kindred, and Lily Crocker.

Services will be held at 11:00 am, on Saturday, December 21, at Roberts Funeral Home, 19939 E Pennsylvania Ave, Dunnellon, FL. Burial at Florida National Cemetery with full military honors  will be held on Friday, January 10, 2020 at 2PM.