Robert David Martin, III

Robert David Martin III, PhD. 

It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Rob Martin. Rob was a loving and caring Father, Son, Brother, and Uncle, and will be missed by all, including his many friends.

Rob was born in Elmhurst, Illinois and proudly shared his birthday with his Mother. Shortly after, the family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he grew up and considered Arizona home. As a boy, Rob enjoyed playing Little League baseball, spending time in the backyard swimming pool, summer family vacations in California and Europe, and visiting his grandparents in Michigan and New Jersey. An avid Boy Scout, Rob enjoyed the outdoors and attended Boy Scout Camps at Catalina Island, and Camp Geronimo, where he was later a counselor. 

Rob enjoyed his time and excelled at school in Scottsdale, eventually graduating from Brophy College Prep in 1987 where he gained an insight and love of math and physics in Mr. Heim’s class. Rob decided to pursue his calling to physics and math at Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics. He then completed a Masters and finally Doctorate Degree in 1997 in High Energy Physics at The College of William and Mary. Never one to slow down, Rob also earned an MBA from the W.P. Carey school at Arizona State University.

Rob’s professional career took him from the prestigious Fermilab in Chicago where he worked on projects that split atoms and increased our understanding of quantum physics to Arizona, developing software and wireless connectivity solutions for credit card terminals with Hypercom. He continued with different companies in the payment processing industry culminating with him being the Chief Technology Officer for BridgePay, a payment transaction gateway company.

His greatest loves were his two daughters, Emily and Elizabeth. Having raised them throughout their lives, he continued his strong relationship with them as they became young adults, hiking the Grand Canyon with them several times, teaching them bow hunting, camping, and exploring the world with vacations in Paris and London.

Rob was an avid Diamondback fan and outdoorsman. He loved hiking the mountains throughout Arizona and enjoyed participating in ultramarathons, including having hiked a 200 mile portion of the Arizona Trail with Mike Deras, his best friend from Brophy. Rob found a community with the Aravaipa trail running group with their 20-50 mile races and weekly group runs, where he eventually became a co-leader of the “fun group”. Rob’s love and companion on these runs was Rebecca Schwartz, who also provided constant support for Rob during his hospitalization.

Rob is survived by his two daughters, Emily and Elizabeth, his parents, Bonnie and Dave Martin, his sister, Leslie Hawley, and his nieces Kylie and Allison Hawley, and nephews LT Sean Hawley, USN and David (DJ) Hawley.

A Celebration of Rob’s life will be held on Tuesday, November 19 at The Arizona Country Club, 5668 E Orange Blossom Ln, Phoenix, AZ 85018, from 3:00 until 6:00pm.