“Robbie” Martin was born Robert George Martin on March 29, 1945 in Elk City, OK where his father, Paul Martin, was stationed in the Navy. As a newborn he travelled home to Ottawa, IL with his mother, Nina Lu Armstrong Martin, on a troop transit train where he received special attention from everyone on board. Robbie spent his early childhood in the “war homes.” Later the family lived on Prairie Street. Growing up Robbie hated school but loved being a Boy Scout. He was especially proud of earning the Order of the Arrow by camping alone overnight in Deer Park and playing in the State Little League Finals in 1957. Robbie credited his sister, Gay Anne (Henderson), with motivating him to become a serious reader, a passion he continued all his life. Robbie graduated from OHS in 1963 and lived on Cape Cod and Treasure Island, FL before serving in the army. After discharge Robbie moved to the Berkeley/Oakland area of California. He worked at a variety of trades and became a master of many, especially of motorcycle and car mechanics. Robbie crisscrossed the continent on his 1937 Harley Davidson dozens of times, being a fixture at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for many years. He also spent many winters camping in his trailer on beaches in Baja California, Mexico. Once he canoed down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers from central Illinois to St. Martinsville, LA, where he learned woodworking from a master craftsman. Robbie was known as a master brewer and BBQ expert. “Pork Butt Robbie” often held popup restaurants in his yard which were eagerly anticipated and heavily attended. He was a gifted short order cook at a local bar. Robbie lived the final 16 years of his life in Trona, CA where his distilling expertise, 4 times filtered using his own homemade still, had an avid regional market. Robbie Martin always lived life on his own terms and with a style that was uniquely his. He was a “renaissance man” in a giant sort of way, surviving 3 high speed motorcycle accidents and a rollover in his 1960s Chevy truck. After such a momentous life, Robbie died unexpectedly at 76 years of age on September 12, 2021 subsequent to enduring declining health for several years. Robbie was predeceased by his mother, father, and sister. He is very missed by his many friends and cousin Julie Ahern Wild and family of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Robbie’s cremains will be interred at Oakwood Memorial Park.
He was laid to rest in the Garden of Inspiration.
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