Charles Herbert Martin of Lampasas died at age 88 on June 11, 2023. He had been living at Lily Springs Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center for the last seven years.
Charles was born on Oct. 12, 1934, in Lubbock to James “Jim” W. Martin and Mary Hodges Martin, the second of their three sons. About 1941, the family moved from Lubbock to a place five miles north of Lampasas.
He attended First Street Church of Christ as a child and graduated from Lampasas High School in 1953. Due to chronic health issues, Charles lived at home with his parents until their deaths, working on the family ranch. After his parents’ deaths, he moved to assisted-living facilities first in Mississippi and then to Temple to be close to his brother Hodges, before returning to the nursing home in Lampasas near his brother J.T.
Charles pursued his interest in photography which began in high school. He was an accomplished bowler who bowled several perfect games and a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. His overriding passion, however, was family genealogy, and he continued that interest until his death. He researched and published, with his cousin Edwin Jack Martin Sr., a family chronology called “The Smarts and the Martins: 1711-1977”. His encyclopedic knowledge of family history never failed to amaze his extended family.
Charles was preceded in death by older brother, J.T. Martin, and his younger brother, Dr. Hodges L. Martin.
He is survived by his two sisters-in-law; four nephews; three nieces and their extended families.
He will be interred next to his parents, and a private family memorial will be held later in June.
