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William (Bill) Marshall Martin, 67, passed away on Saturday morning, September 3, 2022 at his home in Salem, Oregon.
Bill spent over 40 years in public service, first as an Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Deputy. He subsequently worked for the City of Rohnert Park, CA as a public safety officer (police officer and fire fighter) and then for Monterey County, CA Office of Emergency Services as the manager. When he relocated to New Hampshire, Bill worked as a State Marine Patrol Officer, followed by working as Emergency Manager – Fire Marshal, for Lincoln County, NM, where he established the emergency services office.
Continuing his career in public safety, he relocated to Woodland, CA where he developed the Yolo County, CA Office of Emergency Services. He then moved to Salem, Oregon and worked for the State of Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management until his death. He was viewed not only as a dedicated coworker, but a mentor, and true friend by those with whom he worked.
Bill had a lifetime love of books and wrote a children’s book, Santa Down. He had several additional books in development.
Bill was born in Los Angeles, to the late Katie and Robert Martin. He attended Orange High School and later Sonoma State University, majoring in philosophy. Select previous community service activities including Disaster Chairperson for Area Red Cross, Nashua, NH and Board Member for KEDU Public Radio, Ruidoso, NM.
He lived his life following his core values of desire to do good, at all levels. Bill always strived to practice that in which he believed: honesty, compassion, creativity, conviction, reason, courage, faith, and wisdom. Bill was a member of Masonic Rising Sun Lodge 39, Ancient & Accepted Rite – Nashua NH for over 20 years.
Bill is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Carolyn Schrader, Salem OR.
Other family members include his sister-in-law Rev. Ellie Shapton of Moses Lake, WA, and brother-in-law, Ralph Archuleta of Santa Barbara, CA.
He was preceded in death by his sister-in-law Lucy Archuleta (husband, Ralph) of Santa Barbara, CA and sister-in-law Judith Schrader of Palm Desert, CA. Bill will be remembered by his many friends, each of whom were so important to him.
The family requests memorial donations be made to the Shiners Hospitals for Children, Northern California Sacramento, CA; specifically for burn victims.
Bill was a good, and honorable man…giving his experience and talent to the emergency preparedness capacity of the communities he served. He was a solid colleague, a reliable friend and confidant, and one of those guys who was just a pleasure to be around.
Bill will always remain fondly in my memory. I will miss him, his smile, his insight, and his droll sense of humor.
Bill, you brightened a room every time you walked in. My first experience with you was when we got activated in 2020 for the fires, you taught me quite a bit and always had a smile on your face. You will be remembered.
Bill was a great friend and mentor. When I first started working with him, he was incredibly welcoming, supportive and made sure to answer any questions I had. Since that time, we became good friends. When not talking about work, we spoke about our guitars (he loved to tell me about each new one he picked up), our similar tastes in music and we swapped old cop stories. I will miss his friendship, his laugh, his stories, and the random calls from him just to see how I was doing. My family’s thoughts are with you. Rest easy Sir.
During recent years, pre-COVID, Bill and Erik (Rau) were just over the cube wall from me: never has the banter been so enriching. To have the privilege of listening to smart people talk to one another is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Bill was more than smart, however; he was worldly. Bill had no rival when it came to people who know a little about many diverse topics. Bill was curious about the world, about the people in his life, and was a life-long learner. Bill was also a very warm and kind man who was generous with his time and very supportive of his coworkers. I learned that Bill was ill only a day or two before he passed, and I had no idea how ill, so like a lot of people, I had no chance to let Bill know how much he meant to me. He is greatly missed. joseph
Bill was a such a good and decent man. I learned so much from him both professionally and personally, and the world is a little less bright without him in it.
His positive impact on our community will be with us forever and I will always remember his kind, gentle nature and ability to see the best in every situation. We've all lost an incredible friend and his colleagues and friends will miss his positive influence and ready smile. Rest easy, kind sir. We got you.