John Freeman Martin II

1968 - 2021

John Martin passed away on Nov. 29, 2021, from pneumonia complicated by Covid-19.
He was born in Dallas, Texas, on Sep. 28, 1968, and therefore a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. Any howling winds heard on Sunday may well be John cheering the 'Boys on.
John grew up in Fairbanks graduating from Lathrop with a GED. John enlisted in the Air Force after high school and was stationed in Minot, South Dakota, the armpit of the world as he would say. John learned construction with his stepfather, Dick Pusti, and excelled in this field to become project manager for several companies in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Of late, he had accepted a job to build the new intercontinental bridge between Detroit and Toronto, Canada. His work meant a lot to him in that he was very invested in his employees' achievements and the overall accomplishments of the companies he worked for. Ethics were a very important part of his life, often setting him at odds with some. But he was true to himself.
Other than work and football, hockey took center stage in John's growth in Fairbanks. A fan of the Ice Dogs and the Nanooks, he could be seen at every game he could attend. He was in youth hockey and up into men's leagues playing goalie until his knees objected. But the sport always held a special place in his heart.
John's real accomplishment was to raise two very wonderful kids. He was always telling stories which impressed on the listener his true love and pride in both Rene and Jonathan. Rene enlisting in the Air Force and then became a corrections officer, making John swell with joy. Jonathan followed his father's foot steps into construction, growing and becoming a man with his own fine handle on work and life. Both are a credit to the love and security their dad gave them.
John is preceded in death by his father John Freeman Martin, his mother Judith Louise Pusti and his brother Jeffery Harrison McKnight. He is survived by his daughter Rene Destiny Shipley of Anchorage, his son Jonathan Bailey Jordan Martin of Anchorage, his son Trevor Martin of Minot, South Dakota, step siblings Connie and Matthew Martin of Salem, Oregon, his brother William David McKnight of Fairbanks.
John will have military honors at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The time and place of this ceremony are to be announced.