John Philip "JP" Martin

1945 - 2025

John Philip "JP" Martin, 80-year-old resident of Royalton, MN, peacefully passed away on Thursday, October 16, 2025 at the St. Cloud VA Center.

Funeral service was held on Wednesday, October 22nd at 11:00 A.M. at Shepherd Pines Lutheran Church in Rice, MN with Pastor Tim Schiller officiating. Visitation was held from 4:00-8:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 21st and from 9:30 A.M. until the hour of the service on Wednesday. All visitation dates and times were held at the church in Rice. The burial was held at River Side Cemetery in Royalton, MN. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Rice Area Food Shelf at 20 East Main Street, Rice, MN 56367.

John Philip Martin was born on June 11, 1945 in Forks, WA to the late Arthur and Lenora (Haines) Martin. At the age of 5, the family moved from the state of Washington to Paynesville, MN. JP grew up in Paynesville with his siblings, Mark, Frank and Margaret. He attended and graduated from Paynesville High School. JP was united in marriage to Sandra Rose on November 11, 1964 and the couple later divorced. After high school, JP enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. He served his country proudly from July 18, 1963 until his honorable discharge on December 31, 1973. He received the following awards and medals during his time in the military: the National Defense Service Medal, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal. JP also worked with King Hassan from Morocco and the Sentry Dog Program while serving in the military. After his honorable discharge, JP worked as a nationwide trouble shooter for the Ramada Inn hotel chain. He was united in marriage to Linda Pappenfus on August 17, 1980 at the United Methodist Church in Bellingham, MN. The couple lived in Fargo/ Moorhead, Thief River Falls, Little Falls and Royalton. JP worked in the hospitality service industry with many hotels throughout his working career. JP and Linda enjoyed working with and training therapy dogs for over 25 years. They traveled throughout the Midwest and Canada with their field trial dogs. Linda died on March 6, 2013 at their home. JP logged over 10,000 hours in St. Cloud Hospital where he volunteered for over 20 years. JP treasured the time he spent with his family, especially his trip to Europe with his children. He will forever be remembered and loved by all who knew him.

Left to cherish his memory are his children, Tina (Rick) Roche of Elk River, John (Sandy) Martin of Rochester, Jay (Lily) Martin of Big Lake; grandchildren, Jayce Martin, Xander Martin, Brenton Martin, Amelia Martin, Kelsey (Mike) Thompson, Kaitlyn (Dillon) Meath, Kaylee (Jeremy Masley) Roche; great-grandchildren, Ronan Thompson, Kason Thompson, Asher Meath and Layla Meath; siblings, Mark (Jackie) Holper of Staples, Margaret (Kevin) Grondahl of Staples and Frank (Lois) Holper of Onalaska, WI and a half-sister, Penny (Mike) Miles of Beaverton, OR.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife, Linda Martin.

Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of JP.