Mark Wayne Martin

This is to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Mark W. Martin, 71 of Logan, who died February 4, 2002 after a prolonged battle with cancer. He passed away at his home while surrounded by his family. He was born June 17, 1930, in Filer, Idaho, the son of William Lawrence and Helen Mae Hainline Martin. He grew up in southern Idaho, graduating from Filer High School in 1948. He attended the College of Idaho and received a B.S. degree from the University of Idaho, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He served from 1953-55 in the U.S. Army stationed in Korea. During his professional career, he was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a tomato and potato breeder, first while stationed for eight years at Utah State University, then twenty-six years at the Washington State University Agricultural Experiment Station in Prosser, Washington. During his professional career, he developed several disease resistant varieties of tomatoes which made tomato production more feasible in the Intermountain West areas of the United States and areas around the Mediterranean Sea, where Curly Top virus made production very difficult. During the latter part of his career, he developed potato germplasm which could be produced with minimal use of pesticides. He was preceded in death by his son, Bill, who was killed in an auto/bus accident last year. He is survived by his beloved wife, Anna; two sons, Ronald Juli of Cedar City, Utah and Bruce Denise of Provo, Utah; and two daughters, Kathleen Russ Truman of Hyde Park, Utah and Lisa Dan Bolingbroke of Heyburn, Idaho along with 17 grandchildren and one great grandson. He is also survived by a brother, Don Norma of Idaho Falls, Idaho and two sisters, Vaughn Ralph Smith of Filer, Idaho and Janice James Baggett of Corvallis, Oregon. Mark was a very active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, having served in most branch and ward positions since joining the church in 1956, including that of Branch President, Bishop and on a Stake High Council on two different occasions while living in Prosser, Washington. He and Anna served twice on stake missions and on a full time mission in Atlanta, Georgia. They also served as temple officiators in Seattle, Washington and Logan, Utah. Mark and Anna were married June 18, 1952 in Filer, Idaho and had their marriage solemnized in the Logan Temple on September 29, 1959. During the past thirty years, they have devoted much time and effort to compiling and publishing family histories and doing temple work for several thousand of their ancestors. They have found much pleasure in traveling throughout the United States gathering genealogical information, getting acquainted with hundreds of relatives, visiting attractions associated with our church history and the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. They also enjoyed numerous opportunities to travel overseas as part of Mark?s professional career. Few people truly find God in this lifetime, but Mark was one of those individuals. He was a gentle, Christlike man who was loved by all who knew him. He will be sorely missed, but his example will live on to light the way for all those whose lives he touched. Funeral services will be held at the Logan 28th Ward Chapel, 1450 East 1500 North, on Thursday, February 7, 2002 at 12:00 noon. Friends and family may call at the church from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. prior to the services. Interment will be in the Logan City Cemetery. Condolences to the family may be expressed through the Nelson Funeral Home website at www.nelsonfuneralhome.com . If you prefer, donations may be made to IHC Hospice Center, 1400 East 500 North, Logan, Utah 84321, in lieu of flowers.