As we approach one year without him, we honor the memory of Glenn “Sid” Martin who died on Monday, August 14th, 2023 in Wisconsin. His spirit lives on in his wife Kathryn, three daughters Chelsea, McKenzie and Carley, two son-in-laws, five grandchildren, his siblings, and in the many others whose paths he crossed throughout his life.
A husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather “Poppi” and educator, Sid fit a lifetime into his 69 years. With a sarcastic sense of humor that often only his family and closest friends could truly appreciate, Sid lived life unapologetically and with an eternal sense of optimism that stayed with him through the end.
Sid’s life was defined by the relationships and experiences that were most meaningful to him. His best days were spent with family, in the woods, making a pot of Martin chili and fresh bread, woodworking in the garage, or tending a campfire. Family was most important to him. He was not only a partner in marriage to his wife, they were soulmates; partners in adventure and in life. A competitive cribbage and Scrabble player, he enjoyed finding engaging ways to spend time with those he loved. Sid never turned down a request from his grandkids to make cinnamon rolls, an invitation to go for a walk with his girls or a lesson in fly fishing from his son-in-laws. Even in his later years, he continued to answer every phone call from friends and family with the enthusiasm you’d expect of someone who’d just won the lottery (or in Sid’s case, a dollar scratch off), not someone fighting terminal cancer.
A lifelong morning person from his early years growing up on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin with his ten siblings, Sid met each day with an outward appreciation for life’s simplest pleasures. He maintained a sense of awe and wonder of the world and experienced life through a lens of perpetual gratitude. He loved to be outside and lived a life intentionally close to nature and instilled that appreciation in his daughters from a young age, and later in his grandchildren.
A graduate of UW Madison, Sid studied geology and earth science before following his passion for education. A career educator in the Wisconsin public school system, he was a natural leader. He believed fiercely in the importance of education and equality and believed our lives truly depended on it. He often dreamed aloud about how to make the world a better place and he inspired those around him to act on what they felt passionately about with conviction. Among his final words to his family were the words “be there for each other,” a reminder to all who knew him to hold each other close.
Sid will be remembered by his family in the smells of fresh bread baking and sawdust in the garage, the songs of Lobo, America and Don McLean playing, an eagle flying overhead, the many woodworking projects he built, and every walk in the woods. “Enjoy it,” he would say, as words to live by.
