William J. Martin

William “Bill” J. Martin, 91, of Dowagiac, passed away on Thursday, April 23, 2015. A Christian Mass will be held at 3:30 P.M. on Tuesday, April, 28th, 2015 at Holy Maternity of Mary Catholic Church with Father Kevin Covert officiating.  Burial of his cremated remains will take place at a later date in Riverside Cemetery, Dowagiac.  Friends may visit with the family Tuesday afternoon, April 28th from 1:00 until 3:00 P.M. at Clark Chapel & Cremation Services, 405 Center Street, Dowagiac, MI.  Military honors will take place at 3:00 P.M. by the United States Marine Corp. and the Dowagiac VFW Post 1855.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Cass County COA or Heartland Hospice.  Those wishing to sign Bill’s memory book online or leave a condolence may do so at www.clarkch.com. Bill was born September 8, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio to John and Mary (Paskavicius) Martin.  He attended St. Georges grammar school and East Technical High School in Cleveland, graduating in 1941.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor he joined the United States Marine Corp and reported for duty on January 1st, 1942.  After boot camp he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division on February 10th, 1942.  Within a few months he was headed for the Pacific in the first offensive action against Japan.  In the battles against Japan, his first campaign on August, 7, 1942 was on Guadalcanal.  He left the island on December 22, 1942.  His next campaign was on Finchaven, New Guinea followed by action on Cape Gloucester, New Britain on December 26, 1943.  He left that island on May 22, 1943.  His last campaign was against the island of Peleliu, Palau which lasted September 15 of ’44 to September 30th of ’44.  He returned to Quantico, VA on January 15, 1945 and was assigned to be an instructor in the Officer Candidates School.  He remained there until his four year enlistment was over and he returned to Cleveland, Ohio in January 1, 1946. Bill went to work for the Internal Revenue Service on January 22, 1946 as a clerk.  The USMC recalled him on August 30, 1950 to serve during the Korean Conflict.  He was assigned to the 1st 155mm Gun Battalion – first to create it and then to act as the Communications Chief and instructor with the rank of Staff Sargent until September 6, 1951 at which time he was discharged.  He returned to Cleveland and to his job with the IRS. In January of 1963 Bill was transferred to Cincinnati to participate in the creation of the Internal Revenue Data Processing Center.  He was responsible for the determination of staffing, work flow and long term and short term planning.  After eight years of this activity he was assigned to be the head of the accounting department.  On February 24, 1979 he retired from the IRS and within a year, he kept his promise to his first wife, Ruth Sedlar, to move to this area. As a supervisory employee he was discouraged from dating any of the lady employees.  Ruth Sedlar was a key punch operator in the accounting branch and Bill was a manager in that branch.  In order to date Ruth, Bill took a job in Columbus, Ohio as an Inspector with the IRS.  For the next two years he audited IRS functions and participated in pursuing cases involving misconduct by IRS employees. On June 23rd, 1953 he married Ruth Sedlar, but she accepted him only if he promised to move to this area upon his retirement.  He kept that promise.  They moved to Silver Creek Township on June 30, 1980. Before a year had passed Bill was appointed to the Board of Review in Silver Creek Township. Subsequently, after Dave Hoger resigned, Bill was appointed to the position of Silver Creek Township Supervisor.  He served for ten years and left when it was found that his health had to come first. While serving as township supervisor Bill also served on the Cass County Mental Health Board, the Cass County Planning Commission (with George Dobrich who was his friend in Cleveland in the 1930’s).  He was also President of the Cass County Chapter of the Michigan Townships Association.  He was a member of several organizations; VFW post 1855, Knights of Columbus, Guadalcanal Campaign Veterans, 1st Marine Division Association, National Assoc. of Federal Employees, Dowagiac Elks #889, Dowagiac Moose, AARP, Cass County COA, Dowagiac Public Library and Holy Maternity of Mary Catholic Church of Dowagiac. Bill’s first wife, Ruth, passed away in March of 2002 and Bill married Violet Zablocki on November 29, 2003.  Bill and Ruth met Violet in 1981 and were good friends. Bill is survived by his wife Vi (Violet Zablocki); two daughters Leah (Greg) Hartlaub and Diane (George) Ehlers of Cincinnati, Ohio; three grandchildren Wren (Mark) Shaver, Isaac (Elizabeth) Hartlaub and Jonathan Hartlaub; great granddaughter Maeve Margaret Hartlaub.  He also leaves behind three step grandchildren Edward (Sue) Zablocki of Cassopolis, Donna (Will) Beachy of Middlebury, IN and Judy (John) Michel of Venice, FL; nine step grandchildren and fourteen step great grandchildren.   He is also survived by one brother, John, Jr. of Avon Lake, Ohio and his family. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Ruth, brother Frank and his sister Anne.