Dr. Dan Anderson Martin Obituary (1926 - 2018)

Dr. Dan Anderson Martin, 92, of Madisonville, died peacefully on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at Baptist Health Hospital in Madisonville, surrounded by family and friends. Dr. Martin moved with his family to Madisonville from North Carolina in 1965, with an interest in community medicine and public health. He was born in Benson, North Carolina, son of the late Agnes Augusta Angeline Anderson and William T. Martin. His early education was in the public schools of Raleigh, North Carolina. He then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a hospital corpsman working with blind soldiers at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital and the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and earned his medical degree at Harvard University. He completed his medical residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, after which he became an Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, until moving to Kentucky. His contributions to the Madisonville community and surrounding areas of western Kentucky over the last fifty-three years are numerous. He served as medical director of the Hopkins County Health Department for many years, where he also established a dentistry clinic (later named in his honor the Dan Martin Dentistry Center), in collaboration with the University of Kentucky Dental School. He was the executive director of the Trover Clinic Foundation and was instrumental in bringing a medical residency program to Madisonville from the University of Louisville. He helped found the Western Kentucky Area Health Education Center as well as a nurse anesthetist program. He played a large role in the growth of the Madisonville Community College and created a number of health and human services organizations throughout the community. In appreciation for his service, the Kentucky Rural Health Association created an annual award, the Dan Martin Award, for lifetime achievement in improving rural health care in Kentucky, presented each year at their annual meeting. His dedication to improving rural health care in Kentucky and passion for medical education extended until the end of his life. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing tennis and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He loved opera, Broadway musicals, blackberry cobbler, reading the newspaper, Gladys, and his children and grandchildren. He was known for his quick wit and sense of humor. Perhaps his greatest legacy was a life that exemplified kindness, grace, and respect for everyone he met. He is preceded in death by his wife, Gladys C. Martin, and his brother, William T. Martin, Jr. He is survived by his children, Dan A. ("Andy") Martin, Jr. of Atlanta; Dr. Joel Martin (Julie), of Thousand Oaks, California; Dr. Paul Martin (Dana), of Atlanta; Dr. Nina Martin, of Nashville; and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 4:00pm on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, with visitation at 2:00pm until the time of the service, at First Presbyterian Church of Madisonville. Memorial contributions may be made to Mahr Park Charitable Trust, P.O. Box 339, Madisonville, KY, 42431.