Jack D. Martin

Jack was raised in Glendale just up the street from the Milwaukee River and within walking distance of three Milwaukee County parks that provided the backdrop for his childhood. He was active in scouts and youth groups through Epworth Methodist Church. After graduation from Rufus King High School, he served in the Army in Japan following the end of WWII. He married Carol Trakowski, an RN from the South side of Milwaukee, and they raised their two daughters in Brown Deer. Every Saturday night, he polished four pairs of shoes for worship the next morning at the Brown Deer United Methodist Church. Jack took pride in being a good neighbor and maintaining their home and property with its park-like back yard. Summer weekends meant family time at the cottage on Buffalo Lake in Montello. Jack and his brother, Ronald Martin, owned and operated Joe’s Auto Top- a Milwaukee auto trim shop established by their father. In retirement, he enjoyed being a part of the “old guy” volunteer team at Welcome HOME Bed and Breakfast in Newberg. Jack lived in the same house in Brown Deer for sixty-six years and had been widowed for the last thirty. A year ago he moved to an assisted living apartment in Minnesota near the constant care of his younger daughter, Sharon. He was proud of his daughters and their families and would brag about them to the very end of his life to anyone who would listen.

By far his favorite roles were Grandpa and Great Grandpa. Having grown up near his maternal grandparents, and with beloved childhood memories of Christmas visits to his paternal grandparents in Higbee, Missouri, his grandsons, Kent and Paul, were his heart. A doting grandfather, he could not have been more proud of them and the men they have become. And nothing made Jack light up more than his great-grandson, Oliver Jack, whom he always referred to as “The King.”

His extended family hopes to inherit Jack’s longevity, to add to his legacy of love for family and the Martin sweet tooth.

He is survived by his two daughters and their families: Sharon and Tim Moore- Kent and Samantha Moore, and Paul and Grace Moore and their son Oliver and a baby girl expected in January; Susan and Bill Lockman- Curt and Melissa Lockman and children Reese and William, and Julie and Jason Koch and their sons Landon, Lincoln, and Declan. Further survived by his brother and sister-in-law- Ronald and Diane Martin, sister-in-law- Jean Trakowski, nieces and nephews, additional family, and friends.

Jack’s family is grateful for the exceptional end-of-life care he received in Minnesota from the staff at the Mayo Clinic Health Care Hospital in Cannon Falls and Seasons Hospice in Rochester. He died peacefully just ten days shy of his 97th birthday.

A memorial service is planned for 11:00AM on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at Wisconsin Memorial Park in the Chapel of the Chimes, 13235 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield, WI 53005.

Memorial gifts suggested to the Brown Deer United Methodist Church in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, or Welcome HOME Bed and Breakfast in Newburg, Wisconsin.