Dr. James D. Martin of Morgantown, WV died in Lexington, KY on August 28, 2017 at the age of 90.

He was born on Dec 10, 1926 in Cullman, Alabama and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee as the oldest of three children born to the late Dr. Charles Louis Martin and Sylvia Wenberg Johnson Martin. He received his undergraduate, masters and medical doctorate degrees from Vanderbilt University. After graduating from Medical School in 1959, he completed a Neurology residency at the University of Virginia. Dr. Martin then moved the family to Boston for post residency work at Harvard University. In 1965, he accepted an academic position at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and founded the Department of Neurology. He was a Professor of Neurology at WVU for 40 years until he retired in 2005.

He was a veteran of the United States Army and served in Korea at the 121st Evac Hospital. He married Elizabeth Mason Martin on June 22, 1956. They were married for 61 years. He was the father of three children and grandfather to seven grandchildren. He was a long time season ticket holder and supporter of West Virginia University’s football and basketball teams and enjoyed watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates games. He loved the South Carolina coast in the summer, a good martini, and a cigar.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, son Jim, daughter Julia, daughter Ann and her husband Chas McConnell, his stepsister Abigail Madeiros, and seven grandchildren; Anna and Jimmy Martin, Evan, Kate and Nicholas Deskins, and Lucas and Kaitlin McConnell. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Charles Martin and Sylvia Johnson Martin, his sister Jean Martin Hoover, and his brother Dan Warner Martin.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Dr. Martin’s name to St. Paul Lutheran Church, 309 Baldwin Street, Morgantown, WV 26505. Kerr Brothers Funeral Home in Lexington, KY is in charge of arrangements. Internment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery in a private ceremony for family and close friends at a later date.