October 8, 2014

Paul Martin Jr., 84, of Pleasanton, Kan., and formerly of Gardner, Kan., passed away Sept. 30, 2014, at Olathe Medical Center.
Funeral services were Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, at Bruce Funeral Home, Gardner, Kan., 913-856-7111. Burial with Military Honors followed at Oak Lawn Memorial Gardens in Olathe, Kan. Memorial contributions may be given to the 1st Christian Church of Pleasanton or the Cadmus Grange #350. Condolences may be left at www.brucefuneralhome.com
Paul was born April 15, 1930, in Belton, Mo., to Freda Marion Benton and Paul Martin Sr. The family moved to rural Wellsville and then Gardner in 1942, where Paul was a 1948 graduate of Gardner High School.
Paul served in the US Navy during the Korean Conflict.
Paul married Mary J. Lewis on July 14, 1956, in Olathe. They moved to Linn County in 1974. He was a long-time farmer in Johnson and Linn counties.
Paul drove a school bus for USD 231, Gardner, and USD 362, La Cygne, for many years. He also worked for Walmart in Paola, assembling merchandise, and for the Johnson County and Linn County ASCS Office.
He was a member of the Christian Church in Pleasanton.
Paul served on the USD 231 School Board for a long time. He was a volunteer for the Gardner Rural Fire Dept., served as a leader of Prairie Star 4-H and Cadmus 4-H, was the president of Linn County Farm Bureau, and was a Master of the Kansas State Grange for five years. He was a member of the Morning Grange #227, the Cadmus Grange #350, and Frontier Twirlers Square Dancers of Osawatomie. Paul will be dearly missed by his family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his sister, Nellie Overcash.
Paul is survived by his wife, Mary, of the home; children, Paul “Bill” Martin and wife, Karen, Louisburg, Kan., John “Bob” Martin and wife, Jeanne, Longview, Texas, Pam Lowmaster and husband, Terry, El Dorado, Kan., Jay Martin and wife, Kim, La Cygne, Kan., and Nancy Shadden, Overland Park, Kan.; 16 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.