MARTIN, GENE C.

Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gene C. Martin ’38 (Co. D) died June 11, 2008, in Montrose, Colo. In his 21-year military career, Maj. Martin served as a member of the American Embassy Guard at Peking, China; participated in the first offensive campaign of World War II as a member of Edson’s Raiders, and saw action in the Korean War. During the last years of his service, he served as the officer-in-charge of the Marine Corps Recruiting Station for Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of South Dakota and Nebraska. He retired from the Marines in March 1960. During his six years in Denver, he was actively involved in the community, including serving as vice president of the Dowell Elementary School PTA and president of the Denver chapter of the Camp Fire Girls Council. After his military career, Mr. Martin joined the staff of the Denver Hilton under their management training program, the first of many civilian careers to follow. In Crested Butte, Colo., he and his wife, Peggy, opened and managed the Ore Bucket Lodge, and owned the Water Wheel Fine Arts Studio, where Mr. Martin continued his silversmithing, goldsmithing, weaving, and painting. He was a founding father of the Crested Butte Historical Society, and designed the exteriors and interiors of many businesses in Crested Butte and Gunnison, Colo. In Fallbrook, Calif., Mr. Martin honed his landscaping skills, creating beautiful koi ponds, gardens and aviaries. He and his wife spent 20 years in Oregon, during which he wrote and published “Tidewater Bobber Fishing for Chinook Salmon.” The Martins moved to Montrose in July 2003.In addition to his wife, Mr. Martin is survived by a daughter, granddaughter, grandson, and seven great-grandchildren.