Our beloved Thomas Henry Martin passed away at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California, on January 22, 2023, at the age of 93, after a short illness.
Tom was born in Tacoma, Washington, on October 24, 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression. Tom was raised in South Pasadena, California, and graduated from South Pasadena-San Marino High School in 1947. He was married to Ann Louise Martin (AKA “Susie Davies”) in 1951. After serving his country in the Army Medical Service during the Korean War, he attended and graduated from UCLA with a degree in sociology.
During his long career as an executive in the insurance industry, Tom was president of Empire General Life, which was later acquired by Protective Life, a Fortune 500 Company. Tom and his wife, Susie, relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where Protective was headquartered. Tom retired as a Senior Vice President and returned to his home in San Marino.
Tom loved playing both tennis and golf. He served as a president of the San Marino Tennis Foundation. He also served as a president of the Valley Club. He was a member of the UCLA Alumni Association. He was very proud that his daughter and grandsons all were awarded various degrees from UCLA.
Tom’s other passion was being heavily involved with and dedicated to his two grandsons. He was a frequent spectator at many San Marino High School football, basketball, and track events, rooting the boys on!
Tom will be remembered most for his sense of humor. He was a true master of telling the opening joke at family as well as business events!
Tom was preceded in death by his mother, Laura Dickinson Martin, and his father, Sanford Martin, and sister, Nancy Martin Potts Miller. He is survived by his wife, Ann Louise “Susie” Martin, his daughter, Laura Martin Wilson, his grandsons Eric Thomas Wilson (wife Mika Yoshimura); and Stuart Martin Wilson (wife Yunjin Jang), and his great granddaughter, Melia Wilson, as well as his extended family. Tom truly enjoyed a long and full life, and his pleasant personality will be dearly missed by all.
