Link for Tom Martin Recorded Funeral Service: https://youtu.be/N2EZKNerNOk

Thomas Parker Martin was born on May 16, 1933, in Harvey, ND, to George and Bertha (Nikolaus) Martin. He grew up in Harvey and graduated from Harvey High School in 1951. Tom graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1956, where he was a proud member of the SAE fraternity, with a degree in teaching. Northern California appealed to Tom after visiting relatives there, so after teaching at schools in Bowbells and Balta, ND, and in Elmore, MN, he moved to Fairfield, CA, where he taught school and met Laurel Barber from Santa Barbrara, who had also moved there to teach. Tom and Laurel were married on June 22, 1963, in Montecito, CA. Their first European adventure was in 1964 when they picked up their custom-ordered Volkswagen camper bus in Europe and outfitted it for a summer of travel. They thought that one trip to Europe would be enough, but instead, they decided that they wanted to spend more time there. In 1969, they headed back to Europe. Once again, they picked up a custom-ordered VW camper bus in western Europe and this time headed to the Soviet Union, since Tom was interested in his family's history there. They drove from St. Petersburg down to Moscow, then further down to the Odessa region of Ukraine, where Tom's German father was born, and to Tulcea, Romania, where Tom's Russian mother's family lived before venturing to America. Meanwhile, back in Harvey, Tom's parents couldn't understand why he would want to go back to the old country. After that summer, Tom and Laurel started teaching at the US Department of Defense overseas schools in Germany. They lived in the Karlsruhe and later in the Mannheim-Heidelberg areas for 37 years, during which time Tom enjoyed exploring World War I and II sites in France. Those interests proved to be useful when Tom had the opportunity to assist the families of several US soldiers who perished in World War II and were buried in France. On behalf of the soldiers' families and working together with local officials in Alsace and Lorraine, Tom made sure that the soldiers were properly honored through monuments and ceremonies in France. Tom and Laurel retired to Salisbury, New Hampshire, in 2006, where Tom enjoyed his forest before moving to Grand Forks in 2015. Tom also enjoyed following his alma mater's hockey and football teams and reading the Harvey Herald, to which he always had a subscription whether in the US or overseas.

Tom is survived by his wife, Laurel of Grand Forks; son Thomas (Nikki Guzman) of Grand Forks; and daughter Jennifer (Bill) Henderson of Regensburg, Germany.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers James and George Martin.

Arrangements with Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, ND.