Thanks to Tennie Capps Bean for link to Mother.
During his years as a Nashville firefighter, Karl H. Martin saw some of the city's biggest fires, including the blaze that destroyed the Maxwell House hotel in 1961 and the fire that ripped through the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1965.
"He was outstanding as a firefighter and a chief," former Mayor Richard Fulton said. "I knew him for many years, and he ranks among the top of all the chiefs in the Nashville Fire Department."
Mr. Martin died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 88.
The Chicago native moved to Nashville as a child in 1917. He joined the Fire Department in 1943 and rose up through the ranks to become a district chief.
"He was a great believer in the importance of public service," said Keel Hunt, Mr. Martin's stepson. That included helping Ellis Reeder Martin, Hunt's mother and Mr. Martin's second wife, in her campaign for Metro Council. She became its second female member.
After retiring in 1973, Mr. Martin served as chief sergeant of arms for Tennessee's General Assembly for six years. State Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, who knew him before his state house service, said Mr. Martin was "reliable, dependable and could be taken at his word."
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Okinawa, Japan.
Survivors include his son, Herschell Martin, Nashville; three stepsons, Keel Hunt, Nashville, Shawn Hunt, Winnetka, Ill., and Kris Hunt, Springfield, Ore.; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Visitation will be in Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home 5-8 p.m. today, and Wednesday at Woodmont Baptist Church from 9:30 a.m. until the funeral service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Forest Lawn cemetery. Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
During his years as a Nashville firefighter, Karl H. Martin saw some of the city's biggest fires, including the blaze that destroyed the Maxwell House hotel in 1961 and the fire that ripped through the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1965.
"He was outstanding as a firefighter and a chief," former Mayor Richard Fulton said. "I knew him for many years, and he ranks among the top of all the chiefs in the Nashville Fire Department."
Mr. Martin died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 88.
The Chicago native moved to Nashville as a child in 1917. He joined the Fire Department in 1943 and rose up through the ranks to become a district chief.
"He was a great believer in the importance of public service," said Keel Hunt, Mr. Martin's stepson. That included helping Ellis Reeder Martin, Hunt's mother and Mr. Martin's second wife, in her campaign for Metro Council. She became its second female member.
After retiring in 1973, Mr. Martin served as chief sergeant of arms for Tennessee's General Assembly for six years. State Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, who knew him before his state house service, said Mr. Martin was "reliable, dependable and could be taken at his word."
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Okinawa, Japan.
Survivors include his son, Herschell Martin, Nashville; three stepsons, Keel Hunt, Nashville, Shawn Hunt, Winnetka, Ill., and Kris Hunt, Springfield, Ore.; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Visitation will be in Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home 5-8 p.m. today, and Wednesday at Woodmont Baptist Church from 9:30 a.m. until the funeral service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Forest Lawn cemetery. Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
Thanks to Tennie Capps Bean for link to Mother.
During his years as a Nashville firefighter, Karl H. Martin saw some of the city's biggest fires, including the blaze that destroyed the Maxwell House hotel in 1961 and the fire that ripped through the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1965.
"He was outstanding as a firefighter and a chief," former Mayor Richard Fulton said. "I knew him for many years, and he ranks among the top of all the chiefs in the Nashville Fire Department."
Mr. Martin died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 88.
The Chicago native moved to Nashville as a child in 1917. He joined the Fire Department in 1943 and rose up through the ranks to become a district chief.
"He was a great believer in the importance of public service," said Keel Hunt, Mr. Martin's stepson. That included helping Ellis Reeder Martin, Hunt's mother and Mr. Martin's second wife, in her campaign for Metro Council. She became its second female member.
After retiring in 1973, Mr. Martin served as chief sergeant of arms for Tennessee's General Assembly for six years. State Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, who knew him before his state house service, said Mr. Martin was "reliable, dependable and could be taken at his word."
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Okinawa, Japan.
Survivors include his son, Herschell Martin, Nashville; three stepsons, Keel Hunt, Nashville, Shawn Hunt, Winnetka, Ill., and Kris Hunt, Springfield, Ore.; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Visitation will be in Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home 5-8 p.m. today, and Wednesday at Woodmont Baptist Church from 9:30 a.m. until the funeral service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Forest Lawn cemetery. Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
During his years as a Nashville firefighter, Karl H. Martin saw some of the city's biggest fires, including the blaze that destroyed the Maxwell House hotel in 1961 and the fire that ripped through the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1965.
"He was outstanding as a firefighter and a chief," former Mayor Richard Fulton said. "I knew him for many years, and he ranks among the top of all the chiefs in the Nashville Fire Department."
Mr. Martin died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 88.
The Chicago native moved to Nashville as a child in 1917. He joined the Fire Department in 1943 and rose up through the ranks to become a district chief.
"He was a great believer in the importance of public service," said Keel Hunt, Mr. Martin's stepson. That included helping Ellis Reeder Martin, Hunt's mother and Mr. Martin's second wife, in her campaign for Metro Council. She became its second female member.
After retiring in 1973, Mr. Martin served as chief sergeant of arms for Tennessee's General Assembly for six years. State Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, who knew him before his state house service, said Mr. Martin was "reliable, dependable and could be taken at his word."
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Okinawa, Japan.
Survivors include his son, Herschell Martin, Nashville; three stepsons, Keel Hunt, Nashville, Shawn Hunt, Winnetka, Ill., and Kris Hunt, Springfield, Ore.; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Visitation will be in Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home 5-8 p.m. today, and Wednesday at Woodmont Baptist Church from 9:30 a.m. until the funeral service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Forest Lawn cemetery. Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
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