Gary Martin

Gary F. Martin, 87, died May 15, 2024, at his home in Glasgow.

He was born June 4, 1936, to parents Francis L. Martin and Velva Mae (Major) Martin in Williston, N.D. He was the oldest of six brothers: Robert, Thomas, Dennis, Lyle, Douglas and William.

He attended Williston, N.D., schools and graduated in 1954. He was a member of the 1953 state football winning team, the 1954 state runner- up basketball team and played and excelled in American Legion Baseball.

He attended Minot State College before entering the U.S. Army in 1955. He trained in Fort Chaffee, Ark., and Fort Sill, Okla., before shipping to Germany. He served in Germany until 1957 when he was called home to Williston, N.D., when his mother died at the age of 42. Six weeks later, his father died, also at age 42. At 20 years old, he was left with six younger brothers ages 18 to 18 months. He was honorably discharged at Fort Riley, Kan., in August 1957.

While home for his father’s funeral, he met Judi Scarr who was a student at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. In 1958, she began teaching in Grenora, N.D. They married in 1959. The fall of 1959, she obtained a teaching position in the Dickinson, N.D., school system. He entered Dickinson State College in 1959. He graduated from Dickinson State in 1961.

He and Judi began teaching in Golva, N.D., in 1961. He was a teacher, high school principal and varsity coach. He coached the Golva Tigers to their first-ever regional basketball tournament where they were defeated by the Mandaree Warriors, the eventual state champion.

In 1962, they moved to Culbertson where he taught and coached winning championships in football and basketball. In 1966, he received his master’s degree in school administration at Montana State University - Bozeman. He was named superintendent of the Culbertson School System that same year and served as their superintendent until 1972.

Their daughter, Lisa Lynn (1964), and son, Robert Gary (1968), were born in Culbertson.