Fenton Lee Martin Jr.

1928 - 2017

CHESTERTOWN - Fenton Lee Martin Jr. passed away peacefully in Chestertown on Nov. 15, 2017, with his wife at his side. He was born in Portsmouth, Va. on Oct. 20, 1928, the only child of Fenton Lee Martin Sr. and Marcia Penelope Martin (née Ferebee).
He attended public schools in Portsmouth, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary in 1949. He went on to graduate from the Marshall Wythe Law School at W&M with the equivalent of today's Doctor of Jurisprudence. During his studies, he served as the assistant to the dean of the law school. He then went on to earn a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in 1952, before entering the United States Air Force to serve as a first lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General Corps during the Korean War.
After leaving the Air Force, Fenton served as a law clerk to the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Baltimore and stayed there to practice law for nearly 50 years. He began as an associate with a six-man firm, and, after several mergers, he retired as a partner in Whiteford, Taylor and Preston, a firm of over 100 lawyers.
Early in his career, Fenton argued a case before the Supreme Court of the United States, and he loved to show off his white quill pen, a traditional souvenir given newly admitted lawyers to the Court.
In 1964, Fenton married Jane Ann Garrette, and they raised two children: Roderick Lee Martin and Elizabeth Ann Vallarino (née Martin), living in the Roland Park area, but spending weekends, summers and holidays first in Betterton and then in Chestertown where they moved full time after retirement.
Playing golf was Fenton's favorite pastime, along with spending time with friends and family.
Fenton is survived by his wife; their son and his wife, Beth; their daughter, called Lisa, and her husband, Juan Carlos; as well as six grandchildren, Lucas, Mateo, and Jack Vallarino and Tori, Ben and Emily Martin.
A memorial service will be observed at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 30, at St. Paul's Church, Kent County.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Good Neighbor Fund of Kent County c/o First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 227, Chestertown, MD 21620, or to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, Chestertown.
www.fhnfuneralhome.com



This obituary was originally published in the Kent County News.