Dr. Philip Ross Martin, Jr.

.

Philip Ross Martin, Jr, 93, of Fleet Landing, Atlantic Beach, Florida died peacefully on June 15, 2024, with his daughter present at his side. His battle with Dementia is over & he is now in the presence of his Savior Jesus Christ & wonderfully reunited with his dear wife Jo who preceded him in death 3 years earlier, only 2 months shy of their 66th wedding anniversary.

Phil was the only child of Philip Ross Martin, Sr & Dorothy Florene (nee Martel) Martin. He was born in Philadelphia, PA where after he graduated from high school, he went to Penn State University in the pre-Med program. After graduation he went to Temple University Hospital for medical school where he met Jo while she was in nurses training at Temple. They married on June 25, 1955 & then joined the Navy with Phil commissioned as a Lieutenant. They were stationed in several states during his 11 years of Naval service. Hawaii, California, Florida & Texas.

After serving our country in the United States Navy, Phil went into private OB/GYN practice & hospital administration in Stroudsburg, PA. He served there for well over 20 years & delivered almost 5000 babies, which he was still able to tell you if asked right up until the last days of his life.

After their children were grown & out of the house, they desired to return into the military but instead of going back into the Navy, he went into the US Air Force. This allowed for more travel & exciting locations to live. He served in Mississippi, South Korea, New Mexico & Georgia where Phil retired as a full Colonel in 1994.

He loved all things water related – especially boating, sailing, water skiing, etc & enjoyed teaching his children & grandchildren along with many other relatives & friends to love those things too. Many special memories were made over the years doing these activities. Music has also been a huge part of his entire life. He loved to sing with his beautiful bass voice, play his classical guitar & of course his upright bass fiddle.

After retirement Phil & Jo began to look for a vacation place where they could get to quickly & found the perfect little island of Cedar Key, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. They loved being there, Old Florida, with no commercial chains of any kind & no traffic lights. A true place to relax & enjoy being surrounded by nature & God's magnificent creation. They loved sharing it with many family & friends over the years. Their little piece of Heaven on Earth!

In 2006 they found Fleet Landing Retirement Community in Atlantic Beach, Florida. It is a CCRC (Continuous Care Retirement Community). He immediately got involved in many things. He played tennis several days a week until he was 86 & faithfully sang in several different musical groups & played his bass fiddle in those same groups until he was almost 91.

They lived in their independent home for 15 years & when Jo passed, Phil moved into an assisted living apartment for a year and a half & the past year and a half he has lived in the skilled nursing facility (where he was lovingly referred to as “Doc”). Phil has been at Fleet Landing longer than probably most of the people here – 18 years. Everyone knew & loved him! 

Phil was known for his love for Jesus, Jo, his children, grandchildren & great grandchildren as well as his sisters in law, brothers in law & nephews, . He was very loving, disciplined, intelligent, caring, compassionate, generous & fiercely loyal. You could always count on him to do whatever he said he would do.

Phil is survived by his son, Philip III (wife Sue) & daughter Beth Ann (husband Jim Newell), 4 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren & 2 sisters in law, Clara Louise Rochee & Susanna Roessner.

He will be greatly missed & our hearts are sad, but we don't grieve as those who have no hope. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will see him again in Heaven where he is now enjoying unimaginable splendor with his Heavenly Father.

Phil's Celebration of Life service will take place Monday, September 16, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall at Fleet Landing.