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ELKINS -- The life, legacy and public service of Joseph E. Martin III will be celebrated with two public events in downtown Elkins on Saturday, June 15.
Martin died Feb. 22 at his home in Charleston. The events in his remembrance will occur on what would have been his 76th birthday.
The celebration begins at 1 p.m. at Elkins City Hall with the dedication of the new flagpole to mark Martin's legacy in the Elkins area. The community is invited to join Martin's family from 2-4 p.m. in the newly renovated Tygart Hotel for hors d'oeuvres, memory sharing and music from Martin's favorite, the Blues Brothers.
Anyone who would like to share photos and memories online may visit https://bit.ly/joemartinmemories.
Martin's public service as a leader in state and local government spanned decades. He was Elkins' youngest city council member and mayor, and West Virginia's first Homeland Security advisor.
While serving as Elkins mayor from 1977 to 1989, he also represented residents of Randolph and Pocahontas counties in the West Virginia House of Delegates. First appointed to the House in 1978, he was elected again every two years through 1998.
During his tenure in the House, Martin was instrumental in securing the majority of funds the Randolph County Development Authority needed to purchase 20-plus acres of the former CSX railyard for redevelopment. In gratitude, Martin Street was named in his honor.
Martin is also credited with securing funding to purchase land for Elkins' Riverbend Park and re-energizing the Corridor H project.
When Martin decided not to seek re-election to the House, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety - now the Department of Homeland Security. In 2003, he accepted the position of legislative director under then-Gov. Bob Wise.
In 2005, then-Gov. Joe Manchin appointed Martin deputy chief of staff. He later worked as legislative director of West Virginia Policy and Legislative Affairs.
Martin was born June 15, 1948, in Elkins, a son of the late Dr. Joseph E. Martin Jr. and Rose G. Martin.
He graduated from Greenbrier Military School in Lewisburg in 1966, where he achieved the title of battalion commander as the leading cadet. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon in 1970. In 1971, he began work on his master's degree in industrial relations at West Virginia University.
He is survived by his only daughter, Abbey R. Martin of Brooklyn, New York; a sister, Jane Ann Jesson of Enterprise, Alabama; a brother, John S. Martin and partner, Hope Rierson, of Elkins; several nieces and nephews; his former wife, Sarah Mongold Martin, and his grandpup Napoleon, whom he loved very much.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Edith Martin Schneider, and brothers in-law, Edward J. Schneider and Darreld Jesson.
A Methodist by faith, Martin was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Elkins.