James M Martin's Obituary
James Malcolm Martin, 81
LAKELAND - James Malcolm Martin died peacefully on August 2, 2016 in his home, surrounded by his family in Lakeland, Florida.
James was born in Cary, Mississippi, the son of James Monroe Martin and Allie Bankston Martin. He is survived by his wife Marina and by his three children, Daniel, Victoria and Michael, his daughter in law, Amy Winebarger, his three granddaughters Isabel, Abigail, and Emilia and by his sister, Gayle Martin Keefe.
James and his wife Marina led an adventurous life together. They were struck with cupid's arrow at Ole Miss University and began their married life in Jackson, Mississippi, then moved to Managua, Nicaragua, Marina's birthplace. While living in Nicaragua, they survived a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in 1972 and a political revolution in 1979. After fleeing this embattled country in 1979, the Martin family resettled first in Natchez, Mississippi, then back to Jackson, MS.
James was Army veteran who served his country from 1957 to 1960.
As a teacher, James touched the lives of many of his students, who remember him fondly. After graduating from Mississippi College in 1962, he began teaching at Murrah High School in Jackson, MS. In 1967 the family moved to Nicaragua, where he was High School Principal of the American-Nicaraguan School in Managua in the '70s. After the Sandinista revolution sent the family back stateside, he taught in Natchez, Mississippi both at North Natchez High School and at South Natchez-Adams High School in the '80s. Later, the family moved back to Jackson, Mississippi, where James taught at Forest Hill High School in the '90s.
He enjoyed dancing the Palo de Mayo and sailing Ron Flora's catamaran on Lake Xiloá in Managua, Nicaragua. He loved taking the family to several of Nicaragua's beaches, especially Pochomil, Poneloya and San Juan del Sur. In Mississippi he enjoyed fishing on the Mississippi River with Allen Oliver, a good catfish fry, and in more recent times, listening to "that show with the five women" on TV.
There will be a reception on Saturday August 6, 2016 at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Home, 3350 Mall Hill Drive, Lakeland, FL 33810 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.
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