Obituary of Stephen Tansil Martin

Stephen Tansil Martin was born on September 1, 1946, in Athens, Tennessee. He died on December 31, 2007, at the age of 61, during his recuperation from a November 23rd automobile accident. Steve's parents, Meredith "T." Martin and Mary Wright were from Texas and Tennessee, respectively, but Steve claimed the world as his birthright--as a 'military brat' he and his brother Marshall "Dave" Martin grew up all over the United States and the world. Steve married his wife, Marion Bovard McCord, at The Abbey in Austin, Texas, on May 24, 1981. They had one son, Colin Patrick Martin, who resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Steve and Marion have resided in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, for the past eleven years. Steve graduated from Texas Tech University in 1969 with a B.A. in Marketing, in 1973 he received an M.A. in Mass Communications from Texas Tech, and in 1992 Steve earned his Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Design from Florida State University. From 1971 to 1972, Steve worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru and Brazil where he assisted rural agricultural cooperatives and set up a state government's training department, respectively. He worked variously for KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas Hospital Association, the San Antonio Public Library system, and the University of Texas, before moving to Washington, D.C. as the Assistant Director of the Clearinghouse on Development Communication at the Academy for Educational Development. From 1983-1986, Steve was the Field Director for the Agricultural Education Development Project in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was during these years that he returned to Austin, Texas, to be present at the birth of his son, Colin Patrick. Steve, Marion, and Colin Patrick spent three happy years at their home in Kandy before moving back to the U.S. where Steve attended Florida State University, working at the Center for Educational Technology while completing requirements for his Ph.D. In 1989, Steve was hired by Motorola Inc. to work in its Singapore office of the Motorola University--first in setting up and evaluating the corporation's 'Six Sigma' quality and statistical process control for Motorola's worldwide operations, and then in setting up performance improvement curriculum for the Asia/Pacific region. Then, in 1995, Steve took the Associate Director's position in the Sales and Marketing Training division of Merck's Worldwide Human Health Marketing where he was responsible for performance improvement for subsidiary offices in sales, marketing, and management. In March of 2006, Steve retired from his position at Merck, and had been enjoying a renewed devotion to physical fitness at Gibson's Gym, the exploration of new frontiers in self improvement through reading and travel, and the renovation his home in bursts of creativity. Steve was an active member at the First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County, although he counted himself a 'pagan' at heart. He was beloved by those who knew him as a thoughtful, wise, and open-hearted man. He was, above all, one who enjoyed life and who found his most profound sense of purpose in home and family. Steve is survived by his wife, Marion McCord, his son, Colin Patrick Martin, his brother Lt. Col. Marshall David Martin, ret., and his wife Ursula, their sons, Michael, Stephen, and Kevin, and their wives, Mary, Anna, and Maria, and their children, Megan, Matthew, Lauryn, Whitney, Zachary, Artem, and Colby; his brothers-in-law, Roy Materanek, and Pedro Fraile, and his nieces, Lucia and Elisa. "A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, January 5th, at The First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County, intersection of Rt. 519 and Oak Summit Road, Baptistown, New Jersey, at 2:00 p.m - #908-996-3964 or www.hunterdonuu.org In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Save the Children or the First U.U. Fellowship of Hunterdon County's building fund.