John W. "Jack" Martin passed away on Sunday, December 15, 2019, just nine days shy of what would have been his 93th birthday. Born on Christmas Eve in 1926 in Mount Vernon, Washington, to Mabel Dahl and John F. Martin, Jack spent his youngest years in Olympia before the family moved back to Mount Vernon in 1935.

Jack was a proud graduate of Mount Vernon High School, Class of '44, as he would be proud of the many institutions he was a part of---the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point on Long Island, New York, where he graduated as an Ensign in '47 with a Bachelor's of Science in Marine Engineering, and later serving in the Navy Reserve; serving on the Board of the YMCA, the Board of Directors of the Oil Heat Institute, as the Mount Vernon School Board President, the Skagit Golf & Country Club President, as a Rotarian and a Mason. And Jack was deeply proud of the institutions his children and grandchildren belonged to as well, generously supporting them all throughout the years to pursue their education, something he prized greatly.

Jack saw several adventures over the course of his long life. He was on a U.S. Merchant Marine ship to Saipan, Japan, when news of World War II ending reached them in the Pacific, and returned safely to New York through the Panama Canal before sailing on to France and England over the Atlantic. And in 1950 he would marry Jeanne Martin of Bellingham, with whom he would spend the next 57 years of her life, raising a family together, and always making sure to spend plenty of time by the sea: on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where they held a vacation timeshare for 25 years, and at the cabin on Samish Island that Jack's parents had bought in the 40s, which under Jack & Jeannie's care would grow to include the cabin next door, so that their family and friends could spend summers by the sea with them.

Jack was able to spend even more time with the people he cared about after he retired in 1991 from running Martin Oil for the last 22 years, a local fueling company that began in the 20s as John F. Martin & Sons, a Mobil distributer. And of course, having more free time in his retirement meant he had more time to spend at Skagit Golf & Country Club, with his family-away-from-home. Jack was a famous fixture at the Club, a regular every Wednesday in the lounge. It was at SG&CC that he shot a hole-in-one in his 30s, and achieved the distinct honor among golfers of 'Shooting Your Age' at 89.

Jack was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne Martin, daughter Jackie Donovan, and brother and sister-in-law Val and Pinky Martin. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law John and Nancy Martin, his son-in-law Arnie Donovan, his four grandchildren Kelsey (grandson-in-law Danny) Oliver, Matt Donovan, Tarra and Alayna Martin, and his two great-grandchildren Kyzie and Cruz Hanstead.

At Jack's request there will be no funeral service, but we're sure he would love for all who knew him to raise a glass in his memory this December 24th, preferably one with an olive in it.

Arrangements are under the care of Hawthorne Funeral Home, Mount Vernon, WA.