Ronald E. Martin, known to many as “Gus” or “Gussy,” died at home in Palmyra, Va. on Oct. 16, 2021. He was 83. The family did not disclose a cause of death.
Born in Provincetown on June 17, 1938 to Lillian V. Martin and Henry F. Martin, Gus was one of nine children. He graduated in 1957 from Provincetown High School, where he was voted “wittiest” in his class. He contributed a couplet to the high school yearbook, The Long Pointer, to commemorate that fact: “You’ll always smile when Gus is around/ For you see he is our Class Clown.”
He was a star on the high school basketball team in his junior and senior years. Dubbed by his teammates a “frontcourt phenomenon,” he was the leading scorer in five games during his senior year. He finished the season second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game.
Although he did not fulfill his ambition “to be a 20-year-man in the Air Force,” as he put it in The Long Pointer,” he did play basketball with a mixture of Air Force and town players in the Police Athletic League for a time.
Gus loved outdoor sports, including hunting, and, especially, surf fishing.
After high school, he worked many jobs. He was a fisherman, painter, drywaller, carpenter, and plumber before he went to work for the town of Provincetown from 1976 until his retirement in 2000.
Gus moved to North Truro with his partner, Jody, and son, Dane, in 1987. In 2016, the couple sold their house and moved to Palmyra be near their son and grandchildren.
Gus always liked to say to his friends that “life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, and everything in the middle is a bonus,” said Dale. His father understood the power of neighborliness and left some advice about it: “If you want to do something nice for someone and don’t know what it should be, just say hello and smile.”
According to his son, Gus wanted to leave a special message for all his AA friends. “Remember,” he said, “there is no ‘graduation,’ but the God-given time to leave life with sobriety.”
Gus leaves his wife, Jody A. Martin, whom he married in 1988; his son, Dane H. Martin; and two daughters from a previous marriage, Cynthia L. Martin and Jacquelyn J. Owens. He also leaves 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, along with many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by one half-brother, Charles Landry; two half-sisters, Marjorie Blackwell and Shirley Bortz; three brothers, Henry Martin, Kenneth C. Martin, and Robert J. Martin; and two sisters, Helen Martin and Lillian V. Butler.
Burial at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Provincetown was private.
