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Wesley Marvin Martin

Posted 2019-07-12 by mhenderson
Published in the Daily Miner on July 11, 2019 -
Kingman, Arizona -

Welsey Marvin Martin passed away June 30, 2019 surrounded by three
generations of family.

He was born Nov. 16, 1934, to Fred and Ada Martin in Fresno,
California. The family moved to Bakersfield, then to Needles before
settling in the Santa Cruz area where they lived for several years.
Wesley, known as “Wes,” graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1952
and joined the U.S. Air Force in January 1953. After basic training he
was stationed in Harlingen, Texas where he served as a T-29 Flight
Mechanic.

In August 1955, he was married to his high school sweetheart, Marjorie
Eleanor Day, in Santa Cruz. They lived in San Benito, Texas, for the
duration of his enlistment. It was during this time that their first
daughter, Vicki Gail, was born in 1956.

After leaving the Air Force, Wes and Marjie moved back to Santa Cruz,
California. Wes always had a great interest in wildlife and enrolled
in Hartnell Junior College in Salinas, California to begin his studies
in the field of wildlife biology and management. It was at this time
that their second child, Joan Lee, was born in 1957. After Hartnell,
Wes transferred his studies to Humboldt State College in Arcata,
California, which was one of the leading schools in the field of
wildlife biology and earned his BS in wildlife sciences. During this
time, the couple’s third child, Lori Kay, was born in 1959.

Upon graduation from Humboldt in 1961, he was immediately hired by
Arizona Game and Fish Department; it was the beginning of a career
that he always loved. The family made the move to Phoenix, Arizona
during the summer of 1961. It was a long, hot trip with no air
conditioning from cool Arcata to 112 degrees in Phoenix. At the end of
a six-month training period, Wes was assigned to his first official
position as wildlife manager in the tiny community of Nutrioso in the
White Mountains of Eastern Arizona, and two more children were added
to their family, Paul Wesley (1962) and Eric Luann (1964).

In the spring of 1964 Wes took on a new position within the department
and they moved back to Phoenix. It was only a year later in 1965 that
the opportunity arose for Wes to take on the position of regional
supervisor for Region III, and with this move let the family put down
permanent roots in Kingman.

Wes retired Aug. 31, 1989. However, he continued to enjoy the outdoors
with hunting and fishing for many years afterwards.

Wes is survived by his wife of 64 years; Marjorie, daughters; Vicki
Jenkins and Gail (Bill) Plagerman, 10 grandchildren; Eli Jenkins, Dawn
Dunton, Dillon Jenkins, Charlie Balluff, Courtney Marin, Wesley Garai,
Margie Kormos, Evan Hopper, CJ Huerta and Virginia Swanson, niece;
Aileen Wolff, nephew; Fred Plageman, as well as 16 great-
grandchildren.

Wes was preceded in death by his parents; Fred and Ada Marin,
grandson; Dennis Hopper, and daughter; Lori Kay Tucker.

A memorial service for Wes will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17 at
the historic Elks Hall, 301 N. Fourth St., on the corner of Fourth and
Oak streets in downtown Kingman.




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