Darrell Martin

Darrell LaVern Martin was an all-American guy who liked family activities, baseball and apple pie. Actually, he was a fan of baseball, basketball and football and made the best peanut butter pie. Though he was quiet by nature and stayed to himself most of the time, he got excited with sports and maintained wonderful friendships. The best things in life are often the simplest, and Darrell enjoyed them all. Darrell LaVern was born March 12, 1967 in Muskegon, Michigan during a decade marked by Americas military involvement in Vietnam and the civil rights movement back home. The United States advanced in the space race and soon celebrated the first human to set foot on the moon. Darrell grew up on the east side of Muskegon on Catherine Avenue with his younger sister Regina and their parents, James E. and Sharon (Loyd) Martin. As a family, they attended Bethesda Baptist Church and spent quality time on trips to Toronto, New Orleans, California and Cedar Point. As a student at Oakview Elementary and West Michigan Christian High School, Darrell showed superb scholastic ability, in part due to his father being a teacher at Muskegon High School and Principal. Darrell was an excellent student and a great kid who followed the rules and did what he was supposed to. Such qualities stood him in good stead as a sportsman. He honed his baseball skills with the East Muskegon Little League, participated in basketball camps during the summer and played both sports in high school. Darrell was especially proud of taking home the state baseball championship his senior year, 1985. Darrell had lots of childhood friends and a special relationship with his uncle, Tracy Loyd, who was just two years older. Darrell and Tracy were more like brothers and shared common interests, especially the love of sports. In fact, Darrell had intentions of going into sports medicine when he enrolled at Michigan State University, but when he became involved in a serious relationship, things changed. Darrell moved to Kalamazoo to be with the young woman, switched to Western Michigan University and became a father to DJ, who was born in 1991. Upon completion of his studies at WMU, Darrell went to work at Humphrey Products in Kalamazoo, a job he held for nearly ten years before moving to Stryker Corporation, where he worked in the shipping department. In time, Darrell became involved in another relationship and fathered his son Roc in 1995. Although he loved both his sons very much, circumstances beyond Darrells control did not allow him to spend as much time with them as he would have liked. Still, Darrell loved his family very much and always made it home for holidays, except when he had the good fortune of attending a Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day football game. Often times, he also scored tickets for Monday Night Football games and Chicago Cubs baseball games. At one televised game, Darrell caught a foul ball that thousands viewed on TV, and because he had set the VCR to record the game, he could watch the famous catch too, again and again and again. Half the fun of watching sports was the time Darrell could spend with his Uncles John and Willie. Detroit was a familiar destination any season of the year as the three followed the Tigers, Pistons and Lions through their ups and downs. Being the friendly guy that he was, Darrell was bold to meet sports celebrities such as Terry Bradshaw, but he was also content to view other professional athletes on his extensive baseball card collection. Among Darrells other activities were fun trips to Indianapolis to visit relatives, doing woodworking, grilling and putting on fish fry's, cooking and making amazingly delicious peanut butter pie. In recent years, Darrell was diagnosed with diabetes. He continued to work, despite some helpful measures, Darrells health declined and he died unexpectedly on Saturday, October 24, 2015. Although his life was shorter than his friends and family would have ever wanted , his memory will live on in the hearts of all that knew Darrell. He will be greatly missed. SURVIVORS Parents, James & Sharon Martin of Muskegon; sons, D.J. Martin of Kalamazoo, Roc Martin of Kalamazoo; sister, Regina Campbell of Muskegon; niece, Alyssia Campbell; many aunts, uncles, cousins & friends. SERVICE Tuesday, November 3, 2015, noon with visitation one hour prior to the service at Bethesda baptist Church with Rev. Scotty McKinley and Rev. Charles Poole officiating. Interment in Oakwood Cemetery. MEMORIAL To the Family. Please visit www.clockfuneralhome.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book.