Robert E. Martin

Dr. Robert E. Martin, 66, passed away at his home n Jan. 4, 2014, with his family at his bedside.

Dr. Martin graduated from the University of Vermont, and received his medical degree from Georgetown University. He interned in Portland, Ore., then worked with the U.S. Public Health Service in Kotzebue before practicing in Anchorage. Shortly after, he moved to Wasilla, where he opened his practice in family medicine. After several years, he specialized in sports medicine, which included regenerative injection treatments such as platelet-rich plasma injections.

He ran the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, placing 25th in 1982, regularly played hockey two to three times a week, volunteered for several years as a golf marshal at the professional golf association tournament in Maui, and often played in the Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Some of Dr. Martin’s volunteer work included serving at the following organizations: Mercy Ship Ministry in Guinea Bissau, Africa; clinic doctor for the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; team doctor for the U.S. team participating in the World University Games in Korea; and volunteer doctor for the Alaska Avalanche Junior Ice Hockey Team.

Dr. Martin was preceded in death by his father, Edward Martin, and his mother, Jeanette Martin. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; his son, Ross; his daughter, Emily; and relatives in Massachusetts.

A memorial service is at 2 p.m., Jan. 11 at Lazy Mountain Bible Church, Palmer.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 1939, Garden Valley, TX 75771-1930 or to Hope Lodge, American Cancer Society, 132 West 32nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10001.

Arrangements were by Valley Funeral Home.