Paul W. Martens

  Paul William Martens, 88, lately of Elyria OH, but mostly of Berea OH passed away peacefully after a long day of visiting with family at his side.

 It is an impossible undertaking to describe all that our Dad has meant and done in the span of his days.  We are, first and foremost, a family of faith, so there is no doubt here that, after meeting his Lord and Savior, he was surrounded by Mom and a huge assembly of family and friends.

 Dad and Mom had three sons with varying degrees of family resemblance.  All of them were at the center of their lives.  Scott (and Elisabeth), Mark (and Lisa) and Tom (and Wendy) and the seven children they had made for a crowded and noisy table.  And because this is how God works, there was a time when somebody else really needed a Father and Pops happily obliged.  Christine (and Tim) have done everything possible, and more, for our Father and should rightly be considered “one of us”.

 Dad was a steelworker and a blue-collar man.  Words were not his most eloquent form of expression.  He could be grumpy and gruff, and it was ridiculously difficult to get him to change his mind on a thing - but somehow, everybody loved him.

 He could talk endlessly about God, family, sports and gardening.  If you have lived in Cleveland the past few years, or still follow the sports teams from afar, then you have learned to embody Romans 5:3-4 and its message of suffering, endurance, character and hope.  Thank goodness for “THE” Ohio State Buckeyes!!!

 There is no Hall of Fame for the steady and unspectacular.  Dad lived a reasonably quiet life among a bunch of reasonably quiet people.  The type of people who are the bedrock of any successful society.  In the extended family that we came from, the women were strong, the men were good-looking, and somehow, all the children turned out above average (tip to Garrison Keillor).

 Dad fit in well with the “nothing special” crowd, and that would be a badge of honor for him.  Which is not to say that he didn’t live a long and interesting life.  So much to tell, and so little time or space…  Consider this - give your life to God, consciously make the difficult choices, bide your time, and Dad can tell you all those stories himself.  Better yet, he is going to be at a crowded and noisy table surrounded by the people you love most.  They all have an endless set of stories for you.  Blessings.

In lieu of flowers, please send any gifts to:

Lutherans in Africa

P.O. Box 121

Ocean Shores, Washington 98569

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