Jerry O'Neill Martin

Jerry O’Neill Martin – September 4, 1934 – May 14, 2025

Jerry was born in Jackson, TN, and grew up the son of Wilburn Edward and Jessie Marie (nee: Buntin) Martin. Since his father was an American Baptist Minister, they moved around some. The bulk of his school years were in New Lexington, Ohio. His life was kind of like that of Huck Finn, from the stories he told. He loved playing little league baseball, fishing with friends and being a budding entrepreneur selling ice cream out of one of those portable freezers you pedal around the neighborhood. He graduated from New Lexington High School in 1952. He attended Northern Baptist Theological Seminary for a short time (rooming at one point with Warren Wiersbe, who became a noted pastor speaker and author). He decided that full time ministry was not his gift and calling and he joined the Air Force. He served from January 18, 1955 to November 17, 1958, doing a tour in South Korea. He told all kinds of stories from his time in Korea where they worked with the locals and even supported an orphanage there. While in Korea, his mother solicited young ladies from the church to write to her son. As a result, he corresponded with the love of his life, Patricia Joyce Kirkpatrick. After he returned from Korea, he and Joyce wed on May 2, 1959 in Springfield, OH.

When he finished his service in the Air Force, he took up work at International Harvester in Springfield where he became an Industrial Engineer. He enjoyed the work of making the assembly lines more efficient. He retired from there in 1991. Later he consulted with them in setting up manufacturing plants in Oklahoma City and Chicago. They moved to Logan – Lancaster, OH in 1992 where he worked at Syrill Scott Printing to keep himself occupied with worthwhile work. They liked being in Southeastern Ohio, but the pull of family and friends drew them back to Springfield in 2003.

God gave Jerry and Joyce two daughters that they cherished and raised with self-sacrificial love - Natalie (Nan) and Michele (Missy). They taught them to love the Lord and provided for them to eventually take up their callings in elementary education where they impacted so many more lives – multiplying many times over the very love that they were shown from Jerry and Joyce.

Outside of his work he had several hobbies. He spent many hours going to estate sales, flea markets, and auctions looking for those ‘sleeper deals’ and hidden treasures. He thoroughly enjoyed hunting and fishing. Most recently he when he was still able, he loved those many trips he took over to Indiana with his buddies for fishing in the Lakes there. Gardening was a constant, cyclical pastime for him – sometimes out of necessity in lean times but mostly out of sheer enjoyment of producing something from the fruit of the ground.

Above all else, Jerry cherished his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, having trusted in him from his youth. He attended and served Grace Bible Church from its beginning stages in the early 1970s. He faithfully led as an elder there when they lived in Springfield until his disability kept him from carrying on. His love for Jesus was foundational for all he did. He was a servant to those around him with a ready smile, wit and wisdom that touched everyone with whom he interacted. He was a man of conviction – believing that the Bible is the word of God and its message of salvation through Jesus Christ is the hope for everyone who believes and trusts in him.

Though in many ways Jerry’s life was very ordinary, there is a very extraordinary story behind his life that evidences the goodness of God sustaining and working. He found out as a teenager that he was adopted by Wilburn and Jesse Martin. From that time on he always wondered who his biological parents were but could not find out their identity. The court records from Jackson, TN did not contain any useful information. Then in 2017, with the help of DNA and some sleuthing on the part of Natalie, he was introduced to his still living, biological siblings: Guy, Linda, and Lou. Meeting and sharing stories with his new-found family was a capstone for his life. The story is an amazing one involving a nefarious organization called the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. His piece of that saga is detailed with aliases in in the book, Before and After (Chapter 5), by Judy Christie. (Also see the historical fiction about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in the book, Before We Were Yours by Judy Christie.) He loved his family and extended family while growing up but connecting with his lost family brought great resolution to his mind.

He is survived by his beloved wife Patricia Joyce; brother Guy Yates; sister Lou Ellen Zammillo; daughter Natalie Martin Demana (T. Andrew Demana); 5 grandchildren: Tom Demana, Ben Demana, Nate Demana, Elizabeth Patterson and Sam Patterson; 11 greatgrandchildren – Cade, Zane, Josephine; Eleanor, Vincent, Dominick; Olive, Winnie, Royal, Moses, and Daphne Demana along with several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by their precious daughter, Michele Joyce Patterson (Wallace Patterson), and his new-found sister, Linda Saunders.

A visitation will be held on Monday, May 19, 2025 from 10:00am to 11:00am at Richards, Raff, and Dunbar Memorial Home. Funeral services will immediately follow at 11:00am, officiated by Pastor Marv Wiseman. Entombment at Rose Hill Cemetery will take place at a later date.