MARTIN

Ralph Burton Martin Jr., 82, of Pinehurst, died Sunday, April 17, 2011, at his home.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Yates-Thagard Baptist Church, with the Rev. Steve Johnson officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery, in Southern Pines. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at Boles Funeral Home, Pinehurst.
Mr. Martin was born Oct. 12, 1928, in Montpelier, Vt., the seventh of nine children of the late Ralph Burton Martin Sr. and Edith Florence Sanders Martin. In 1945, shortly after his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg. In 1947, he married the former Grace Monroe, of Southern Pines. After his discharge from the Army in 1952, he worked for a short time as an insurance agent for Durham Life Insurance Co. Mr. Martin returned to military service in 1954 when he joined the North Carolina Army National Guard as an administrative supply technician with Company D, 130th Tank Battalion, in Southern Pines. After nearly 40 years of military service, he retired in 1986 as a command sergeant major with the 2nd Armor Battalion of the North Carolina Army National Guard.
Mr. Martin was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who loved the game of golf. He was an active member of Yates-Thagard Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph Burton Martin Sr. and Edith Florence Sanders Martin; and a son, Mark Martin.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, A. Grace Monroe Martin; sons Larry Martin and wife, Joanna, of Southern Pines, and Charles Martin and wife, Fonda, of Fuquay-Varina; daughters, Rebecca Warner and husband, Bruce, of Pinehurst, and Pam Combs and husband, Tim, of Aberdeen; brothers, Kendall Martin and wife, Irene, of Vermont, and Lamaon Martin, of North Field Falls, Vt.; grandchildren, Michael Bachman and wife, Connie, Stephanie Auman and husband, Bryan, Drew Martin and wife, Meg, Christa Martin, Elizabeth Combs, Scott Martin, Tim Combs Jr. and Hannah Martin; and seven great-grandchildren, Dylan and Katie Bachman, Nathan, Natalie and Emily Auman, and Charlie Grace and Sam Martin.
Memorial contributions may be made to FirstHealth Hospice, 150 Applecross Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374; or to Yates-Thagard Baptist Church, 3820 Vass-Carthage Road, Carthage, NC 28327. Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.