Kit Martin

1984 - 2023

It is with great sadness we announce the death of Kit Martin. Kit passed away on March 24, 2023 in Seattle, WA, following an extended battle with lung cancer.

Kit was born in Nashville, TN on February 9th, 1984 to Deborah Martin, the late Henry Martin, and a then a family of four. Later his family would grow to eight siblings.

Kit accomplished a Bachelor's Degree in History with a concentration in Women's Studies in the Ottoman Empire from Bard College in 2008. Following his Bachelors, Kit achieved a Masters in Development through The University of Minnesota in 2012. He then went on to attain a Doctorate from Northwestern University in Learning Sciences in 2021. Kit had many careers and accomplishments over his thirty-nine years. One he was most proud of was being awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 2008-09 where he worked with entomology research, one of his major passions. Kit, also, worked with the community of South Sudan throughout the years and this work was close to his heart. His final position was at PennState as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Education. Kit was an avid lover of ants, travel, history, politics, the stock market and whimsical creative antics with a focus on current events. His most recent artistic accomplishment was a Graphic Novel, Boom Times, highlighting the atrocities of the 2020 pandemic, which will be released on April 15th, 2023.

To define who Kit was is a daunting task. Kit was an artist, a philosopher, a critical thinker and an all around great mind. Kit had a dry and absurd sense of humor that can not be replicated. Kit often described the way his brain worked as "The Republic of Kit". All who knew him would agree, there was only one Kit in the universe.

Kit is preceded in death by Stephanie Martin, our dear sister, and Henry Martin, our beloved father. Kit is survived by his vast collection of humans, too many to name. We, his siblings, Taylor Martin, Allison Randal, Joseph Martin, Daniel Martin, Jeffrey Martin and Lindsay Deter-Wolf are greatly saddened and will keep him in our hearts and minds for all time.

There will be a memorial for Kit on Saturday, April 1st in Seattle, WA at 1:00pm. The memorial ceremony will be held at St. Peter's Episcopal Parish. There will be a reception to follow at 3:00pm at Growler Guys. Further memorials will be held on April 15th in Nashville, New York, and Chicago to celebrate the release of Boom Times and the life of our loveable and quirky Kit Martin.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Field Museum of Natural History.

We request that Kit be held in high regards and in your hearts.