* John Wilkie Martin; Lifelong County Resident

John Wilkie Martin, a lifelong resident of Ventura County, died last week after a short illness. He was 66.

Born Jan. 20, 1931, in Venice, Martin moved to the county with his family when he was less than a year old.

After high school, he took a position with a local trucking firm and worked there until retiring in the late 1980s.

Friends and family remember Martin as a loving and doting father who never missed an important family moment.

“He always considered the family the most important thing,” said Donna Tauber, a friend of the family. “They were always very close and still are.”

He is remembered by family for his sense of humor, loving guidance and a special talent for storytelling.

As a father, Martin considered Ventura the ideal place for a family and enjoyed spending every available minute with his five children, teaching them how to repair their bicycles and cars and about his favorite hobby, woodworking.

“I remember him telling me that this is a real mom-and-pop town,” Tauber said. “And that if you want to raise a family, this is the place to do it.”

Martin is survived by three sons, John Jr. of Dublin, Ga., and Steven and Gary of Ventura; two daughters, Debi Paxton of Santa Paula and Katie Burtlow of Ventura; his brother, James, of Baytown, Texas; and nine grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were handled by the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura.