September 20, 2024
After a 14-month battle with cancer, Earl R. Martin passed peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on August 23, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Martin, who taught missiology and world religions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1982-1987, was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, in 1927. In 1948, he married Mary Jane Winchester, his high school sweetheart in Washington D.C.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Maryville College; Bachelor of Divinity from Southwestern (’53); Th.M. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; and a Ph.D. from University of Nairobi, Kenya. Martin was founding pastor of Temple Hills Baptist Church, Temple Hills, Maryland. He and Jane served as missionaries for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and later with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
In addition to Southwestern, he also taught at Carson Newman University, B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, and the International Baptist Theological Seminary, Rüschlikon, Switzerland. After 50 years teaching both on the mission fields and elsewhere, the Martins retired to East Tennessee in 1994.
Martin was preceded in death by his parents Luther and Maude Martin, and siblings Florence Sinclair, Evelyn Rawlings, Eleaner Snyder, and Lu Martin.
He is survived by his wife, Jane, and children, Judi Smalling, Susan Albright, Char Gray Sorensen (David), and Wayne (Shirley) Martin. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Sept. 23 at 11:00 a.m. at Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas.
