Bob Martin, the longtime behind-the-scenes political activist and husband of a noted contributor to the community, passed away Tuesday morning, a mere nine days after a celebration of life was held for his wife Anne.
That their deaths occurred so closely together was not a surprise. Friends and family said that like Anne, who died on Nov. 10 at age 80, Bob, who was 79 years old, had been suffering from a list of health problems and the pair were known to be a tightly-knit couple.
"We kind of expected we'd get a one-two punch," Peter, the eldest of the Martin's two sons, said.
Although not "joined at the hip," he said his parents, "complemented each other in so many ways that when one left, the other would go."
While Anne played a role in a long-list of community causes - most notably the establishment of the Child Development Centre - and was bestowed several awards and accolades - including being named a Freeman of the City in 2010 - Bob's contributions were more behind the scenes.
Asked what his father would have regarded as his greatest achievement, Peter said it was helping get Anne elected to city council and New Democrats Paul Ramsey and Lois Boone to the provincial legislature.
"I think that was the thing he talked about more than anything else, helping other people get to where they were going to go," Peter said.
Ramsey credited Martin with launching him into a political career that saw him become a fixture in NDP cabinets throughout the 1990s. Both were teaching at the College of New Caledonia and involved in the college's faculty association when Martin pushed Ramsey to run.
"I consider Bob my political godfather," Ramsey said.
Until Martin broached the subject, Ramsey said he had not contemplated a political career.
"And then Bob and I got talking about it and my arm was twisted up between my shoulder blades," Ramsey said. "Bob has a way of explaining to people why they should do what they thought would be to their benefit and to the community's benefit."
Boone described Martin as a "grizzly bear with a teddy bear's heart."
"He came across as real tough to some but he was a very caring person, he was absolutely dedicated to the NDP, he was extremely supportive to me, both politically and as a friend personally."
The eldest of three children, Martin grew up on a farm in Sooke, on Vancouver Island, where he lived the typical life of a farm kid. "He essentially did all the chores one would do - fixing fences, chasing cows, everything," Peter said.
Upon graduating from high school, he apprenticed as a boilermaker at the shipyards in Victoria and then, in his mid 20s, left for South Africa with the intention of settling there. But when he saw how the black people were treated, he changed his mind.
"He thought at that time there was no way the black people there would put up with this and the place was going to be a powder keg and he was better off leaving," Peter said.
Following some extensive travel that took him to Kenya and England and, for a time, inspecting pipelines in Pakistan, he returned to Sooke where within a year he had met Anne, who had left England to work as a physiotherapist in Canada.
They met through family friends and, following a three-week romance, were married.
Although opposites in many ways, she was a "so very proper" member of the English upper middle class and he more rough hewn, they both shared an interest in social causes.
They moved to Prince George in 1965 where Bob had secured a job as a welding instructor at the B.C. Vocational School, later to become the College of New Caledonia, while Anne worked as a physiotherapist at Prince George Regional Hospital.
Bob was first elected to city council in 1974 and remained an alderman until 1977 when he ran unsuccessfully as mayor. Perhaps his proudest achievement at that time was helping to convert Cottonwood Island into a park.
Anne, in turn, was first elected to council in 1990 and was there until 1999 when a more right-wing set of candidates were voted in. His parents' political involvement made for interesting kitchen-table conversations. Downtown revitalization was often a topic, Peter said, "and it still is today."
Both Anne and Bob remained involved both in politics and the community once out of office.
Boone remembers a time when she and Bob were out door knocking during a campaign and, as more and more households expressed support for the NDP, the more excited he would get and the faster he would walk, to the point where the significantly shorter Boone had trouble keeping up.
But his enthusiasm was infectious and his support uplifting.
"He would frequently take me aside when I was in office and say 'you're doing a good job, Lois, I'm really proud of you," Boone said. "When you've had a tough day and things aren't going that good and you've got someone who will do that for you, that's really nice, but that's the sort of friend Bob was."
A celebration of life will be held this Saturday at St. Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church, 1505 Fifth Ave., starting at 1 p.m.
