A pillar of the community was recognized posthumously for his work by having a park named after him Monday.
Bob Martin was on council as an alderman in the 1970s and a welding instructor at the College of New Caledonia. When he retired in 1993, he continued to play a role in the community, helping New Democrats Lois Boone and Paul Ramsey get elected in the 1990s and supporting his wife Anne in her gardening and political pursuits. Anne was a city councillor in the 1990s.
He passed away in November 2012.
"We're very pleased, on behalf of the city, to share in this time with you and honour the service and commitment of Bob Martin by dedicating this small but very beautiful piece of land that we have in the city of Prince George," said Shari Green, Prince George's mayor.
The park's located on Ferry Avenue, across from the hospice.
Coun. Murry Krause, who was a friend of Martin's for over 40 years, said the process for having the park named began when community members approached him.
"People from the community approached me and indicated that they acknowledged that Anne received [lots of] recognitions," he said, "but Bob had received very little in the way of recognition and it was time to do that. I agreed."
So he took it to council, which also agreed. When they later found out there was a green space available, they thought it was a logical way to honour Martin. The decision to name the park was made last year.
John Martin, Bob's son, told the approximately 60 people at the dedication the site, which overlooks the Fraser River, was perfect.
"He loved the Fraser and Nechako Rivers," he said. Bob lived on a house in the shore of the Nechako, where he would boat up and down the river with friends and family. After her retired, he made his own aluminium boat.
"This site was so fitting, because it overlooks the BCR Industrial Site," Bob's other son, Peter Martin, added later. "In a lot of ways, his efforts over the years really supported industry in Northern British Columbia."
Krause remembered Bob as a person who supported youth. He served as a youth member of a community planning committee in the early 1970s alongside Bob, who showed him the ropes.
"He really did take time to help me learn how to do that job effectively," he said.
That legacy continues with the Bob Martin Memorial Fund, a scholarship that recently helped pay for the college education of a young woman aiming to became an electrician.
John told the people at the dedication that Bob would have liked having the park named after him.
"Dad would be humbled and secretly pleased about it," he said.
"He was not one, necessarily, to try to hog the limelight or publicity," Peter added. "He was certainly outspoken, but there was always a purpose rather than just self-aggrandisement."
Betty-June Gair, who's a member of the heritage commission, responsible for organizing the dedication, agreed with that assessment. She knew Bob since his city council days.
"I think he's watching from above and he would be very proud of this day, although very humble [about it]," she said. He loved Prince George."
