William Grady Martin

1942 - 2014

William (Bill) Grady Martin, 72, died at his home in Longmont, Colorado on December 6, 2014. Born on August 20, 1942, in Denver, Colorado, Bill was the only child of William Martin and Margaret (Peg) Martin. Bill attended Aurora Central High School until the age of 16 when he decided to join the United States Navy. After his Navy years, Bill returned to Aurora, Colorado. Bill married Dianne (aka Deanne) L. Oswald on August 31, 1963. Bill began his long career in the lumber industry in 1963. He was first employed at Aurora Lumber Company for several years before accepting a position at Sterling Lumber Company as warehouse foreman in downtown Denver. In 1967, he moved to Chapin Lumber Company in Aurora, as a salesman and later became the assistant manager for several years. Bill had been attending the Aurora Free Methodist Church in Aurora, Colorado and felt called to the ministry. Bill and his family moved to McPherson, Kansas in 1975 where he completed his GED and then attended and graduated from Central College. He accepted his first church assignment in 1977 in Farmington, New Mexico. In 1978, Bill was offered an opportunity to transfer to Englewood, Colorado where he was the pastor of the Englewood Free Methodist Church for 3 years. The denomination then asked if he would like the opportunity to pastor a church in Longmont, Colorado. The family moved to Longmont in the summer of 1981. Bill was the pastor of the Longmont Free Methodist Church and served as Chaplain for the Longmont Police Department from 1981 through 1983 when he decided to retire from the ministry and return to a career in the lumber industry. Bill worked in sales for United Building Centers in Longmont from 1983 to 1986 when he accepted the position of assistant manager with Diamond Lumber, Inc. in Longmont, Colorado. In 1988, Bill moved from the Longmont branch to the Boulder branch of Diamond Lumber, Inc. In 1991, Diamond Lumber Inc., was acquired by Building Materials Corporation (BMC West) in Boulder, Colorado. Bill worked for BMC West in purchasing until his retirement in 2009. Bill enjoyed camping, bird hunting and was an avid fly-fisherman. He spent countless hours fishing with his two sons and his three grandchildren. He fished so often that he converted the back of his Chevrolet Blazer into a virtual fly shop. If you needed it, he had five of them in his SUV. He loved the mountains, lakes and rivers of Colorado and in particular, loved the area above Basalt, Colorado known as Chapman Dam and the Upper Fryingpan River. He camped there as a young child and continued camping there with his family for decades. We all have special memories of our time together fishing and sitting around the campfire. He is survived by his wife Dianne (Longmont, CO). They celebrated their 51st anniversary in August of 2014. He is also survived by his son and family Duane and Connie Martin and their two children Caitlin (Durango, CO) and Ryan (Littleton, CO); his son, Dean Martin (Thornton, CO) and his daughter and son-in-law Kim and Chad Quesada and their two children, Avery and Graceyn (Brighton, CO). A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, December 13, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. at the Longmont Nazarene Church located at 2111 Mountain View Avenue, Longmont, CO, 80501. A reception will follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, you may donate to the National Parkinson's Foundation at www.parkinson.org. Carroll-Lewellen Funeral & Cremation is handling arrangements.