Ian Robert Martin | July 15, 1950 – April 13, 2024

Ian Robert Martin passed away peacefully at his home in Depoe Bay, Oregon on April 13, 2024 at the age of 73. He was a beloved husband, brother, father, and grandfather.

Ian was born July 15, 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Robert and Alvenia Martin. His father, Robert, was a Professor of Education at the University of Hawaii, and throughout his childhood, Ian and his family traveled extensively as his father partnered with educational organizations around the world. Ian attended school in Hawaii, Pakistan, and the Philippines, before returning home to Hawaii to attend Roosevelt High School in Honolulu. During his childhood, and throughout his life, Ian was a passionate and skilled soccer player, playing several times a week for multiple teams well into his 60’s.

During the Vietnam War, Ian served in the United States Navy on the aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard. After completing his service, he returned home to Hawaii, and then moved to the state of Washington. Soon, Ian met and fell in love with Helen Welch, who he married in 1972.

Ian began his college studies at Yakima Valley Junior College, and then transferred to the University of Washington, where he took a wide range of classes and explored his lifelong love of learning. He graduated in 1975 from the University of Washington College of Forestry with a degree in Wood Technology with a Minor in Wood and Fiber Science. This led him to a long and varied career in the wood and timber industry. Throughout his career, Ian worked in wood and plywood manufacturing, international imports of wood products, developing and manufacturing veneer and refined wood products, and carpentry. Consistent through all of this was his love of woodworking and carpentry. In 1983, Ian and Helen built their house in Woodinville, with Ian completing much of the work himself.

Ian and Helen have two children, Sean and Erin, and three grandchildren. When they moved into retirement on the Oregon Coast, Ian and Helen’s beach house in Depoe Bay became a hub for the family to come and visit, celebrate birthdays and holidays, and to see what projects and new additions Ian had gotten into. He often talked about how much he adored being a grandfather, and his face would always light up with joy when he saw any of his wonderful grandchildren,Ayda, Devin, and Tinley.

Ian was laid to rest in Newport, Oregon, near the ocean that he loved all of his life. He will be greatly missed.