Obituary of Reverend Harold Martin

Reverend Harold Thomas Martin B.D. MDIV. passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Friday, January 20, 2017 at the age of 89 years. Harold is survived by: his children, Judy Kelley, Paul (Linda) Martin, Donna (Bruce) Brown, Bonnie Armstrong and Peter Martin; five grandchildren, seven step grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and numerous other relatives. Harold was predeceased by his wife, Vera, parents and siblings. Celebration of Harold’s life took place at Grace United Church on Thursday, January 26, 2017. Rev. Paul DuVal officiated, Grace Choir sang “On Eagles Wings,” duet “O Lord Most Holy” by Brenda Ellison and Cheryl Jack, piano duet “In The Bulb There Is A Flower” by Stephanie and Jessica Bernard, pianist, Lois Sonnega and organist, Irene Knowlson. Memories of a good friend were given by Bud Manning. Tribute by Mary Laursen. Harold Thomas Martin – Reverend Harold It is an honor to be asked to bring memories of Rev. Harold as I have worked with him and we have been friends for many years. Harold Martin, who most of us at Grace here know as our minister, was born April 7th, 1927, in Port Anson, Green Bay, Newfoundland. Harold was the baby of five children and enjoyed his position in the family. He attended school in Anson. At 17, he indicated his interest in the ministry and became a student minister. His first posting was at Red Bay, Labrador. His everyday included the usual Sunday services, baptisms, marriages, funerals, hospitals and oversight of the school system, including signing all the cheques for its running and the staff. Covering the pastoral charge in Labrador was no easy task and included traveling by boat, dog sled, many miles of walking or snowshoeing between services and families. Next he went to Norman’s Cove, Newfoundland and then he was sent out west to Winter, Saskatchewan. In 1949, Harold enrolled at Mount Allison University in Sackbil, New Brunswick, graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In July 1952 Harold married the apple of his eye, Una Gillingham. Then the newlyweds were off to Halifax, so Harold could attend Pine Hill Divinity School. He graduated with a Masters of Divinity and June 15th, 1955 he was ordained by the Newfoundland Conference at Cocrane Street United Church in St. John’s. Next Harold ministered at Newtown United, in Newtown, Newfoundland. Then the family moved to Curling when Harold was called to Curling Memorial United. In 1959 they moved off the island to Honeywood, Ontario where he served at a 3 point pastoral charge. Then on to St. Columba United in Toronto, Fenlon Falls and then George Town to St. Johns, St. Matthew’s in Richmond Hill and St. Pauls Eastern in Ottawa. During these years and many moves, five children were born: Judy Kelley, Paul (Linda) Martin, Donna (Bruce) Brown, Bonnie Armstrong and Peter Martin, the family grew to five grandchildren, seven step-grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Son Paul said, “I thought we were gypsies until I was about 10 then I found out we were just United Church”. After serving congregations for so many years, Harold took a sabbatical. In 1985 Rev. Harold Martin accepted a call from Grace United in Lloydminster and arrived in March to become part of the ministerial team with Diaconal Minister Wilma Sharpe. Harold and Wilma worked well together. Rev. Harold was an intelligent, kind and gentle man. He was a bright light at Grace and in the whole community. He came to Lloydminster a single man and stayed with Bill and Shirley Luchynski until moving to an apartment. This was a stroke of good luck for Harold as he soon met Shirley’s sister, Vera Rekrutiak and the courtship began. They were married July 25th 1987 becoming our society couple — both a real hit in the whole community. At this time, Harold gained a stepdaughter, Sandy Bernard and step granddaughers, Stephanie and Jessica. Harold was what we often call an old fashioned minister in that he always was the minister no matter where he was or what he was doing. Everyone respected and were charmed by him including fellow ministers and all the organizations of the United Church of Canada. In 2015 he was recognized for 60 years in ministry. A serious man with a ‘wicked’ good sense of humor that was well rounded, he became known for his many jokes and stories. After retirement, coffee at Tim’s with Harold was a daily event for many of his friends. He could make fun out of anything. One Advent Sunday the sermon pointed out how commercialism and our over extravagant gift-giving was obscuring the real meaning of Christmas. Monday morning found Harold hanging a six foot long stocking outside his office. He kept looking around to make sure we all noticed. Needless to say, it was filled with lots of veggies…mostly onions and turnips. Sunday Service was not to be missed as Harold was a master when it came to worship. He often talked about his homiletics professor and preaching was a skill he had honed well. His sermons were filled with stories, humor, always bringing together many different trains of thought to get his message across. Sometimes he even pointed out our questionable actions or less than good behavior and yet somehow we loved it. One day he told me that at one of his churches he had a personal secretary and he would give her a copy of his sermon and she would write comments on the sides of the page. He suggested I should try this also. While I was not so comfortable putting notes on the page, I added a few post it notes and we had great discussions and many laughs about the comments. I was telling Judy and Donna this and they laughed saying that every Sunday they would be gathered around the table for dinner and they were all to tell Dad what they thought of the day’s sermon. Takes a secure minister to ask for such feedback. Harold wrote daily and even after retirement if he was perplexed by something or chewing on something in the news or celebrating an event he would write a sermon on the very subject and often drop a copy on the desk and say, “read this”, I can only imagine his sermon on Trump. The Grace Gang were probably well known at Banff Men’s conference as a large contingent went every year. Headed by ‘His Nibbs” (Harold), “The Bishop” (Bill Luchynski),”The Deacon” (Bob Jack), “The Zaar (Nick Matwek) and I guess the rest of the guys were the merry men. The mood was always good around Grace when they came back. This was Harold — he fit in with everyone and had an ability to include everyone, to make us feel important and valued. He listened to our problems, celebrated with us and never missed a chance to pay special attention to children and youth. Harold’s humble nature was endearing and yet he enjoyed the spotlight and never had a low opinion of himself. He hit the front page of The Booster celebrating Robbie Burns day. He was wearing an oversized kilt held up by duct tape. One evening Choir was entertained by Jeanette McDonald (Wilma) and Nelson Eddie (Harold) and their rendition of famous love songs. He often told the story of one day after a really roaring sermon, feeling pretty good about his superior ability in the pulpit, he asked Vera who are the best five minister’s you know. Vera replied — well one less than you think. (He got a great charge out of that.) Sister-in-law, Shirley said Harold was one person who could always handle the spotlight with such grace. He was a competitive curler and his team won the Friars Brier. In retirement he took up golf and Lashburn golf course has never been the same. His golf stories rivaled any fish story such as fighting a ring of gophers for his ball that had landed in the bush and the bear that walked the golf course with him. The congregation’s love for Harold was palpable and he felt the same about the congregation and thought of Grace as HIS Church. He retired in June 1995, then became Minister Emeritus but was always ready to fill in and help us out. Knowing Harold means you have a story to tell that warms the heart or makes you smile. Proud of his Irish heritage and Newfie roots he delighted us all as minister and friend. His bright light guided us, his sermons grounded us and his life has become part of the fabric of our own. Faithful servant - Harold’s light shines even brighter now as he is welcomed by the saints. A sincere thank you to Grace United Church ladies for the delicious lunch, Rev. Paul DuVal, Lois Sonnega, Irene Knowlson, Mary Laursen, Bud Mamiing, Brenda Ellison, Cheryl Jack, Stephanie and Jessica Bemard for their contributions to the service of celebration of Haro1d’s life.Also to all those who made a donation in memory of Harold to the donor’s charity of choice. In lieu of thank you cards to individuals, a donation will be made to the Grace United Church. Special thanks to Bill & Shirley Luchynski and Nick & Sally Matwek for all the care and kindness to Harold during his stay in the hospital. Thank you to the Doctors and staff at the Lloydminster Hospital for the care Harold received while a patient and special thanks to Glen McCaw and staff for their kind and professional care. Donations in memory of Harold may be made to Charity of Choice.