Floyd Martin
Born November 22, 1931 in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, Floyd L. Martin was the second of three children gifted to Pete and Geneva (Faber) Martin. Raised in the Bixby community, Floyd attended Bixby schools where he participated in FFA and contributed to both the high school newspaper and yearbook as a writer. Following graduation, Floyd furthered his education attending then Oklahoma A&M. After a semester in Stillwater, he returned home to help care for his parents and family. Landing a job with a seismograph company, Floyd found himself traveling, at times, for work. It was while on an assignment in Virginia that his life would forever be changed. This, when he laid eyes on a beautiful young woman. Floyd saw this striking woman walking down the street and inquired as to who she was. Asking her name, someone replied 'honey' and that was how he addressed Dorothy Brooks for the first time. Thinking he was a little forward, Dorothy let that slide as she certainly saw something in Floyd. The two began a short courtship that culminated in their marriage on December 24, 1951 in Lebanon, Virginia. Upon meeting Dorothy's parents for the first time, Floyd discovered he was alone with Dor...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
y's father - a tough, no nonsense coal miner. Mr. Brooks' words were few, but it seemed he accepted his new son-in-law. Floyd promised to bring Dorothy back at least once a year and he managed to keep that promise for a number of years. Most years, they even visited twice. One visit during the summer and another around Christmastime. It seemed Floyd turned out to be a wonderful son-in-law according to Dorothy's mom and dad. Beginning a family of their own, Floyd and Dorothy traveled with Seismograph living in several states including Wyoming and Louisiana. Once it became time for the first of four daughters to begin school, Floyd wanted to move back home to Bixby. There, he worked as a traveling salesman, for a time, selling various items - one of those being vacuum cleaners. As the story goes, Floyd was quite the salesman and even had the right pitch to sell a vacuum cleaner to someone who had no electricity at their house and lived on a dirt floor! Floyd also knew how to barter and once came home from a sales call with a trunk full of chickens! Establishing a long career with FRAM Industrial, Floyd held the position of aftermarket sales manager. While working for this company, it wasn't uncommon for Floyd to bring work home to the girls teaching them, at an early age, the value of hard work. Floyd also received his realtor's license and sold properties for Century21 for over thirty years. When not at work, Floyd could be found gardening or mowing. It wasn't uncommon for him to mow for family and friends and was even known to mow empty lots just because they looked like they could use it. The crop from his gardens was always shared and this brought much joy to Floyd. The teller of a good joke, Floyd would always tell the punchline twice just to get a few extra laughs. A man who loved spending time with his family, Floyd bought a lot on Tenkiller where he could take his family camping, boating, skiing and fishing. However, most vacations were spent taking Dorothy back to Virginia. In addition, they did manage to make it to California, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii, through the years, for some memorable time with family and friends. They also had a time share in Branson that they enjoyed and were especially fond of their trips, to Branson, with their Sunday School Class and the "Young at Heart Group". There is no doubt that the most important thing in Floyd's life was his relationship with Jesus. He had a business card when he worked for FRAM that read, "Serving the Lord is my business, working for FRAM pays expenses." Floyd was very outward with his faith. It has been said by his family that his sales experience overflowed even to his spiritual life making him somewhat of a "Salesman for Jesus". Floyd served in the church and even had a nursing home and prison ministry through the years. Floyd must have had a host of guardian angels as he's experienced a couple of near death encounters over his time here on earth. His daughters believe those angels must worn out by now and they take comfort in knowing that Floyd is now at home with the Lord. A man of strong work ethic, Floyd has been described as: honest, dependable, faithful, generous, humble, a servant, a friend and occasionally a bit stubborn. A piece of advice that he often shared was to "Always do what is right and then keep walking". Floyd passed away on Wednesday evening, June 6, 2018 with his loving family by his side. He was 86. Those he leaves to cherish his memory include: his daughters: Debbie Casey and husband, Mike of Wimberley, TX; Anita Wright and husband, Jim; Angela Marrs and husband, Scott and Christy Perry and husband, Dewayne all of Bixby; seven grandchildren: Deanna, Brian, Josh, Emily, Jacob, Gracie, and Grant; seven great-grandchildren: Daylena, Leo, Luke, Ashlynn, Collin, Kennedy and Skylar; eight great-great-grandchildren: Kohl, Kaleb, Jaylee, Abigail, Aaron, Haydin, Elijah and Ezaya. He is also survived by numerous other relatives and dear friends. He was preceded in death by: his parents; a younger brother, Ray Martin; his grandson, David Shatto; his wife of 63 years, Dorothy (Brooks) Martin and his sister, Geraldine "Gerry" Jones.
