MARTIN FILCHOCK Obituary

FILCHOCK, MARTIN - was born January 6, 1912 and passed away early Wednesday morning, September 5, 2012. Martin will be remembered by all as a happy man with a good sense of humor, an optimist to the end, and an excellent husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Martin's life goal was to be the oldest actively working American cartoonist, and he reached that goal shortly before suffering from a stroke just shy of his 100th birthday. His career spanned over eight decades: he won his first cartoon contest in the 5th grade, and he continues to have original, unprinted work published to this day. An early cartoonist in the golden age of comic books, Martin developed characters such as the C.C. Kid, Obo Ossie, Mighty Man, and the Headless Horseman, among others. He worked for Centaur Comics and The Funny Pages. One of Martin's more well-known creations was the "Check and Double Check" puzzle for Highlights for Children magazine, which he drew for over forty years. More than a hundred magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Medical Economics, Good Housekeeping, JAMA, the Christian Science Monitor, American Legion, The Weekly World News and Readers Digest, have published Martin's freelance work over the years. His most recent comics appear in Looking Back and Electrical Apparatus. Martin was born in Grindstone, PA, and he lived most of his life in New York City, NY, Sarasota, FL, and Rogersville, TN. He spent his younger years working in the Civilian Conservation Corps and traveling the country via boxcar during the Great Depression, and, later, pitching semi-professional baseball. He also served his country in the 8th Army headquarters during World War II. During this period of his life, Martin drew countless cartoons. His life and work has been featured in several recent publications including Alter Ego, The Christian Science Monitor, Everything Knoxville, Hogan's Alley, The Rogersville Review, Tennessee magazine, and American Profile. Martin is preceded in death by his wife, Sylvia, and his parents, Mary and George Filchock, as well as siblings, George, Victor, Frank, Catherine, and Mary. He is survived by his daughter, Joanne Filchock, M.D., and two grandchildren, Emily and William Noggle. Martin's brother, John Filchock, and several nieces and nephews also survive him. Special thanks goes to Martin's many friends and neighbors for their kindness and support, in particular, to G.G. Faircloth for maintaining his website and to Doc Trent for his friendship and for the care he has given to Martin's beloved dogs. The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Click Funeral Home Middlebrook Chapel. Private graveside services will be held Edgewood Cemetery, 229 Gallaher View Road in Knoxville, TN, with Rev. Mark Beebe and Carol Hollar officiating. Full military honors will be conferred by the Easat Tennessee Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hawkins County Animal Shelter or the Young Williams Animal Shelter. Click Funeral Home, 9020 Middlebrook Pike is serving the Filchock family. www.clickfh.com