Herschel Allan Martin

Herschel Allan Martin was born December 31, 1927 on a farm in Crosby County near Lorenzo, Texas in the Robertson community to Ira and Selena Dixon Martin. He was the 9th of 10 children, with the first 5 being all girls and the next 5 being all boys. His father Ira called him Hoss. His parents worked hard farming and raising farm animals to make ends meet. Herschel's dad died when he was only 13. His mother could not work the farm by herself, even with the help of the boys who were still living at home so she sold the farm and moved into Lubbock. As a result, Herschel attended schools in Robertson, Roosevelt and Lubbock. A week after he graduated from High School at age 17, he went into the Merchant Marines on the California coast. That duty only lasted about six months before a strike put him out of work so he returned home. When he turned 18, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served in the occupation army in the Philippines about a year before being discharged, at which time he joined the Air Force Reserves. Herschel returned to Lubbock where he met Earlene Bloodworth at Calvary Baptist Church. They married on September 19, 1947. They had four children including oldest son Allan Earl Martin, second son Wesley Joe Martin, only daughter Elaine Amanda Martin and youngest son Samuel Ira Martin. The children all agree that Herschel was a wonderful father, grandfather & greatgrandfather. They had 9 grandchildren and twenty three great grandchildren (so far). Between the wars, Herschel was a Postal Carrier. After the first two children were born, he was recalled to military duty for the Korean War, this time to the U.S. Air Force. He eventually decided to make a career of the military. Including the Philippines, he served 3 remote tours away from his family totaling three and a half years. That was the hardest part of military duty for Herschel. After military retirement, he was hired as an Airport Policeman in Lubbock, where he served an additional 15 years. Herschel was preceded in death by his parents, all of his 9 siblings, a son in law, Earl Mote and a daughter in law, Bonnie Martin. His wife, Earlene preceded him by only 46 days. They had just observed their 76th wedding anniversary. He is survived by all of his children, grandchildren & great grandchildren as follows: Allan and wife Sylvia, parents to four children and one foster daughter: - Betty Harlow Penry (foster daughter) - Hayley (Danny) Guthrie - children Zoie, Mollie, Jayden James, Jaxton Earl, Colton, Dannalyn and Kirsten - Chrystal (Mat) Searcy - children Sydney Anne, Blake & Ava - Robert Allan (Jennifer) - sons Preston, Huxley and Rowen Allan - Andrew James (Jaelyn) - children Amelia and Cade Allan Wesley and wife Bonnie (deceased) are parents to two children: - Christie (James) Soder - children Jonathan (Paige) and Bethany - Beth (Jeremy) Ware - children Jameson and Halston Elaine and husband Erle Mote (deceased) Sam and wife Karen are parents to three children: - Timothy (Randi) - daughter Camille - Herschel Allan (Candice) - children Holley, Adalyn and Ayden - Pamela

Herschel Allan Martin

December 31, 1927 - November 27, 2023