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In memory of
Robert "Bob" Brooks Martin, Jr.
July 12, 1944 - November 26, 2021
Jul 12, 1944 - Nov 26, 2021
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Bob's obituary
Robert (Bob) Brooks Martin, Jr. – Master Consulting Rosarian, Immediate Past President of the American Rose Society 2018-2021, and brilliant California estate planning and tax attorney – passed away unexpectedly on Friday, November 26, 2021 at his home in Escondido, California. He was 77 years old. Robert (Bob) was a beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, son, brother-in-law, stepfather, grandfather and fur-dad; Bob was a devoted convert to and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wherein he served as Elder and Ward Mission Leader for the Escondido Hills ward in Southern California.
Bob is survived by his second wife of 20 years and fellow rosarian, Dona Martin; two children, Elysia Kathleen Martin and Robert Brooks Martin, III; two grandchildren, Ryan Brooks Martin and Evangeline Grace McDevitt; four brothers and their wives, Julie and John Martin, Sr., Margo and David Martin, Sr., Connie and Shawn Martin, Sr. and Nancy and Daniel Martin; eight nieces and nephews, John Jr., Susan, David Jr., Barbara, Candice, Cristyn, Shawn, Jr., and Kathryn; in addition to seven great-nieces and three great-nephews, six stepchildren and many step-grandchildren. Bob is also survived by Max the Maltipoo, his devoted canine companion. Bob is preceded in death by his cherished parents, Robert Brooks Martin, Sr. and Margie Martin.
Bob was born in Akron, Ohio on July 12, 1944, the second-to-oldest of five boys born to Margie and Robert Sr. Bob attended Kent State University, graduating in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts in History; he then attended University of Southern California School of Law to earn his Juris Doctorate in 1969. Bob practiced asset protection and taxation defense law for 50 years. He was admitted to the California Bar 1970. Since 1997, Bob has practiced tax law as the head of his own firm, The Law Offices of Robert B. Martin, Jr. Bob retained a passion for and devotion to the law throughout his adult life. Bob’s son, Robert (Rob) Brooks Martin, III, followed in his father’s legal footsteps and ate nded University of California, Hastings Law School in San Francisco to earn his Juris Doctorate in the early 2000s. Twenty years later, Bob’s grandson, Ryan Brooks Martin began his own first-year legal studies in 2021, also at UC Hastings Law. Bob was proud of the three generations of Martins who were devoted to the practice of California law.
Bob was an avid exhibitor, judge, educator, grower and gardener of all things roses; he was the Immediate Past President of the American Rose Society, the largest plant society in the United States. Bob started out with a dozen rose bushes in 1972. Six gardens and thousands of rose bushes later, Bob cultivated 700 rose bushes on the acre and a half of Escondido countryside where he shared his home with Dona and Max. Bob is the author of more than 700 published articles in local, regional and national rose magazines. Bob is an accredited Horticultural Judge and an accredited Arrangements Judge for the American Rose Society; he was also active in the San Diego Rose Society where he served two terms as President. Bob was the recipient of the American Rose Society Silver Honor Medal for Service to the District, and four American Rose Society Bronze Honor medals for Service to the Pacific Rose Society, San Diego Rose Society, Los Angeles Rose Society and Pasadena Rose Society. Bob was the 2007 recipient of the American Rose Society Guy Blake Hedrick, Jr. award for lifetime achievement in rose exhibiting. He was also honored for his lifetime contribution to rose education as a 2009 recipient of the American Rose Society Klima medal. During his 30-year exhibiting career, Bob showed roses in more than 220 shows, winning more than 1,400 trophies in every exhibiting class including 13 national trophies. Bob was a regular speaker at rose conventions and a hybridizer who introduced 15 rose varieties. Some of Bob’s varieties were named: “Dona Martin” after his wife, “Margie” after his mother, “Angel Grace” after granddaughter, Evangeline, “Tattooed Daughter” after his daughter, and “Puppy Love” after Maltipoo Max. Bob touched thousands of lives with his generosity of spirit and pocketbook, and his patience and willingness to instruct, advise, critique and coach budding rosarians both young and old across the United States. Bob was fond of saying, “I came for the roses. I stayed for the people.”
Bob was a consummate napper (every day for a peaceful half hour after lunch) and a life-time lover of classical and Irish Folk Music. Bob cultivated a many decades-long love affair with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he was also a native supporter of Cleveland Browns NFL football. In fact, Bob loved the Los Angeles Dodgers so much that he and his first wife, Kathy, named their first-born “Elysia” after Elysian Park located directly outside of the LA Dodgers stadium in 1970’s Southern California. Bob was a life-long fan of the Renaissance Faire which he attended with the Martin brood year after year; he was a happy eater of the giant turkey legs sold at every Renaissance Faire. Bob was into genealogy that traced back the origins of the Martin family; he adored cross-country rose show travel, a V8 juice every morning and non-stop donning of his POTARS (President of the American Rose Society) baseball cap. Bob drove an automatic transmission with BOTH feet, wearing down brake pad after brake pad in his many trucks, to the consternation of many family members. Bob had a unique, irreverent sense of humor which was often accompanied by a rumble of deep laughter, a snarky series of comments, and a punchline that he inevitably found funnier than the person to whom he told his jokes. Bob adored animals, especially dogs and cats; during his lifetime, Bob raised a Shetland Sheepdog named Sherlock (after Sherlock Holmes, a favorite of Bob’s books) as well as a calico cat, Xiola, and a huge, orange tabby, Xanthanus.
The memorial service in honor of Bob’s life will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, December 11, 2021 at the home of Bob and Dona Martin, 3291 Old Oak Tree Lane in Escondido, California, 92026. The service will also be presented via Zoom live-stream for interested participants to join across the country. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bob’s name to the American Rose Society at 8877 Jefferson Paige Rd., Shreveport, LA 71119.
Bob, you will forever be missed.
She sets the world on fire
By Christina Georgina Rossetti
The lily has a smooth stalk,
Will never hurt your hand;
But the rose upon her briar
Is lady of the land.
There’s sweetness in the apple tree,
And profit in the corn;
But lady of all beauty
Is a rose upon a thorn.
When with moss and honey
She tips her bending briar,
And half unfolds her glowing heart,
She sets the world on fire.
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Created with love by
Elysia Martin (Bob's daughter).
