Obituary: Leroy Martin

After honorable discharge from the Army, Lee returned home to Sherman County to work on the family cattle and wheat ranch near Kent. He married Catherine Lanthorn in 1969. They joked that Lee’s dowry was his hunting buddies, and Cathie’s was her horses. In 1972, they bought property east of the home ranch, above the John Day River canyon. They raised two children, Bryan and Amy, farmed dryland wheat and barley, and hunted big game and birds.

Lee served on local farm co-op and school ESD boards, and spent hours at the local fair operating the Booster Club and Sherman County Scholarship booths. He served on the county budget committee for many years and was a member of Cattlemen and Wheat League. He was an enthusiastic and lifelong hunter and fisherman, enjoying many annual adventures with his children and many hunting friends. He was the inspiration for both of his children to attend and graduate from OSU and start careers in the hunting industry. He was their biggest fan and supporter, and offered many friends and strangers a “show and tell” session with photo albums of their hunting adventures. Lee was a founding member of the Oregon chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (now Oregon Wild Sheep Foundation) in the late 1990s, and served as president for two years. Though Lee never drew an Oregon Bighorn sheep tag, he helped many sheep hunters by providing area info for the John Day River herd.

He was an avid reader, enjoying books on Oregon history, hunting, World War II, and many newspapers. To Lee, “A day without mail was a day without sunshine.” Lee successfully avoided transitioning to computers, “e-mail” and texting. With his outgoing personality he never met a stranger. When he officially retired from farming he joked that the government paid him to do nothing, and he was good at it! During their retirement, he and Cathie shared road trips to 10 states, plus international travel to France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Tanzania, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and Canada. An especially memorable trip was to Sydney, Australia, to cheer for their daughter and the USA Women’s rowing team at the 2000 Olympic Games. Lee drove to many of his son’s hunting conventions, and also visited his outfitting area in northern British Columbia, Canada.

Lee and Cathie moved from the Kent farm to Redmond, Ore., in 2014, and then to Grand Junction in 2019 to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

Lee is preceded in death by his parents Kenneth and Elsie (Sommer) Martin, his sister Sharon Martin, niece Tammy Martin, and many of his dearest friends. He is survived by his wife Cathie; his children Bryan Martin and Amy Shaffer (Daniel); his grandchildren Isabella and Aryona Shaffer; and his cherished dog Bouncer. Extended surviving family includes nieces Wendy Freitag, Vicky Martin, nephew Bob Martin, and cousins Deanna Padget, Donald “Butch” Martin, Marcia Wirth, Gary and Byron Carlson, Marnene Wood and their families.

Lee’s final request was to return home to his beloved ranch above the John Day River canyon in Oregon, where he can “glass” for bighorn sheep, mule deer, and elk forever. Local announcements will be posted in social media and papers for close friends and family who wish to attend a summertime memorial in Redmond, and scattering of ashes on the ranch near Kent.

In lieu of flowers and cards, the family requests you consider donating to organizations Lee supported: Sherman County Historical Museum, www.shermanmuseum.org; Oregon State University Foundation, www.give.ForOregonState.org (select Women’s Crew Fund or College of Agricultural Sciences Student Success fund); or Oregon Wild Sheep Foundation, oregonfnaws.org/donate.