Richard Carter Martin

Richard Carter Martin, known to family and friends as Dick, passed away peacefully Sunday night at the age of 91, surrounded by his family. A fighter until the very end, he leaves behind a life rich in experience, adventure, friendship and love. With his passing, his family has lost its anchor.

Dick was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1954. From there, his curiosity carried him to Georgetown University and, eventually, to Paris, where he studied at the Sorbonne. Paris would prove to be more than a chapter in his education. It was there that Dick met Lotte Oelund, the woman who would become his other half. Six months later, they were married.

The newlyweds returned to the United States, and Dick transferred to Columbia University, where he completed his degree. His professional life was long and varied, filled with its own chapters and accomplishments. Trying to recount them all, as his Scarsdale Alumni 50th anniversary biography demonstrated, could begin to resemble a Russian novel. And so, appropriately, only a few chapters need to be told here.

The most important ones were written with Lotte and their children.

Dick and Lotte made their home in New Canaan, Connecticut, where they raised their son, Erik, and daughter, Jennifer. Dick believed in seeing the world rather than merely reading about it, and in the mid-1970s he took his family abroad. Together they spent considerable time traveling through the Middle East and North Africa, experiences that became part of the fabric of their family story.

He had a particular appetite for life—for places, for people, for ideas, and for competition. Tennis was one of his great enduring passions. An avid and accomplished player, Dick competed in and won numerous tournaments at the Lake Club in Wilton, Connecticut, and later at Sea Oaks in Vero Beach, Florida. He continued playing well into the later chapters of his life. The tennis court suited him: there was always another point to play, another opponent to meet, another reason not to give up.

Sea Oaks eventually became another home. Dick was deeply involved in the community through his mid-eighties, and the friendships he made there became an important part of his life. It was a place he cherished—a place of sunshine, tennis, companionship and memories.

Yet the measure of Dick’s life cannot be found solely in the places he went, the education he received, or the things he accomplished. It is found in the people who shared his life.

He was married to Lotte, his great love and companion, until her death. He was a father to Erik and Jennifer. He was a brother, an uncle, a friend, and for his family, the steady presence at the center of generations of memories. His life stretched across an era of extraordinary change, and through it all he remained unmistakably himself: curious, determined, competitive and fiercely resilient.

Dick was predeceased by his beloved wife, Lotte Oelund Martin; his parents, John Joseph Martin and Evelyn Margaret Martin (née Jessup); and his brothers and sisters, including his brother John Martin (“Jack”), William Martin, Jean Marie Burke, and his beloved sister Marion Manger.

He is survived by his son, Erik Martin, and Erik’s wife, Teresa Mingo, and his daughter, Jennifer Martin.

With Dick’s passing, another generation of the Martin family is gone. What remains is what every long life ultimately leaves behind: stories that will be told again, places that will forever call him to mind, photographs that will become more precious with time, and the imprint of a man whose presence shaped the lives of those who loved him.

Dick saw much of the world. He loved deeply. He competed fiercely. He kept going.

He was a fighter until the end—and, for his family, he was the anchor.

In memory of Richard Carter Martin, the family suggests that contributions be made to either of the following:

West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System
Contributions may be made through the VA Donation Portal to support veterans served by the Vero Beach clinics.

VNA & Hospice Foundation of Indian River County
Contributions may be made through the foundation at foundation.vnatc.com.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.