Stanley J. Martin of Turners Falls died on July 23, 2020, surrounded by loved ones. He was 90. His wife, Virginia, died on Dec. 15, 2019.
Stanley was born Dec. 20, 1929, the 13th child of Lithuanian immigrants Maria Kairus and Ulian Martin. His father died in 1931, and, thereafter, his mother supported the family on her own with the proceeds from a small farm on the shore of Lake Quinsigamond near Shrewsbury.
On finishing high school, Stan joined the Marine Corps and spent two years touring Europe as the secretary of an admiral aboard an aircraft carrier. He excelled in mathematics and was a superb athlete and this, along with the G.I. Bill, enabled him to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he studied engineering. While in school, he met his future wife, Virginia M. Buss, a student at the Memorial Hospital College of Nursing in Worcester. They married soon after graduating, on Sept. 24, 1954, and went on to travel extensively and raise six children.
Stanley’s career took the family to Southern California, where he worked for Hughes Aircraft Company. Work took him to Caracas, Venezuela, where the family lived for two years before moving to Tampa, Fla., where Stanley wrapped up his career at GTE Data Services.
The family would spend summers on the Outer Cape, often in Wellfleet and Eastham, recalled Stanley’s son, Glen. “My mom was a Mayflower descendant, and they came to the Cape all their lives,” Glen told the Independent.
After Stanley retired, he and Virginia settled on the Outer Cape and helped their children in various business ventures. They rented a house on the beach in Provincetown before buying one in Wellfleet. Glen started the restaurant Martin House, next to the Boatslip in the West End of Provincetown, with help from Stanley, who, Glen said, “hosted breakfast for about four or five years. People loved him — he was funny.”
Stanley helped his daughter Wendy run Martin’s Market, where Angel Foods is now. And he also assisted in the family catering business. “If we had a wedding, he’d do the shucking, opening the clams and oysters,” Glen said. Stan befriended local shellfishermen and would supply the family’s businesses with seafood.
When the couple wearied of the summer crowds on the Outer Cape, they followed their daughter Julie and her partner, Justine, back to Western Massachusetts. They were soon joined by Virginia’s sister Marilyn, who died in 2016.
Stanley loved animals of all kinds, and spent days hiking the woods with a succession of beloved dogs and nights cuddling a succession of cherished cats. He was an avid fisherman and jogger and played basketball until quite late in life.
He is greatly missed by his six children: Glen Martin of Vieques, Puerto Rico, and his partner, Alex Mazzocca; Keith Martin of Lakeland, Fla., and his wife, Theresa; Wendy Martin of Provincetown, and her husband, Rocco DeMaio; Dawn Martin of Tirana, Albania; Julie Martin of Turners Falls, and her wife, Justine Hansen; and Gary Martin of Turners Falls, who was caregiver to both Virginia and Stanley for their last few years; and by three granddaughters: Amanda Martin of Clearwater, Fla.; Rebecca Martin of New York City; and Lily Reynolds of Albuquerque, N.M.
Per Stanley’s wishes, there will be no formal services. McCarthy Funeral Home of Turners Falls is handling arrangements and has a guest book at mccarthyfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the animal shelter of your choice.
