Frederick Martin, Jr.
Died March 2, 1998
Fred grew up in Norman, OK. At Yale he majored in political science, played intramural sports for Berkeley, and was a member of Beta Theta Pi.
After graduating from Yale, Fred attended the University of Oklahoma Law School and planned to spend his career practicing law in Oklahoma. In 1967, he married Joy Monroe whom he had first dated in junior high school.
Fred joined the Navy Judge Advocate General program in 1968 and was stationed in San Diego, California for the next four years. Although both he and Joy had assumed they would go back to their roots in Oklahoma, they liked San Diego so much that they stayed. After the Navy, Fred clerked for a federal judge for a year, then joined a large law firm where he specialized in contracts and real estate law. He and two other members of the firm then set up their own firm of Christison, Martin & Oggel. In all Fred practiced law in San Diego for 26 years. “ Fred enjoyed being an attorney,” Joy says. “His clients became close friends.” He also taught real estate law at a Point Loma Nazarene College.
Their son, Frederick, was born in 1972 and daughter, Megan, in 1979. “Fred was a caring father who taught his children to swim, play tennis, boogie board, snow ski and play soccer and was their soccer team coach for ten years,” Joy says. For his own recreation, Fred loved to ski, swim, and boogie board in the Pacific, as well as jog, play racquetball, handball, and tennis.
Fred was diagnosed with leukemia in the mid-1990s but kept working until just a few months before his death. He passed away on March 2, 1998, and is survived by his wife Joy and their two children. Both Frederick and Megan have married and there are now four grandchildren. Fred was interred in Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery which overlooks the Pacific at Point Loma.
Ralph Protsik remembers: Fred, dear Fred. Across the board – charm, looks, humor, athletic prowess, generosity, kindness, and grace – he was our paragon. How he chuckled the morning after the first night I stayed with him and Joy in their house in San Diego. He warned me that it was on the landing path into Lindbergh Airport. What he forgot to tell me was that the first plane to arrive each day (at 5am) was a C5 Galaxy cargo plane coming in from Hawaii. Christ, I thought it was D-Day redux! I still tremble. Just an amazing, sweet man, who married his high school sweetheart, raised two gifted children, co-founded a law firm, and never stopped charming. A constant twinkle in his eye. Gosh we miss him.
Alan Jacobson remembers: Fred was my college roommate and a dear friend after graduation. We had many laughs together in college and an emotional bond that tied us when we connected over the years. I was on the east coast and he in San Diego, but on each visit it was as if no separation had occurred. We shared our thoughts and feelings as if our conversations occurred without separation of time and place. He introduced me to the music of Buddy Holly, which I still have on my all time favorites list and I listen to driving to and from work. I have etched the cover picture of Buddy in black and white with his black horned rim glasses singing Peggy Sue.
David Strong remembers: Fred will always be a significant person in my life for many reasons, not only because we roomed together in Berkeley College for 3 years, but also because he introduced me to my future wife, with whom I spent the next 47 years until she passed away in December, 2013.
Fred was truly a close friend and confidant, and we had many thought provoking conversations together, both while at Yale and while we lived across the street from each other in San Diego during my 2 years in the U.S. Navy. I believe Fred was instrumental in helping me understand and crystallize my conservative viewpoints.
We played basketball together on Berkeley’s intramural team and Fred, while being an excellent shooter, had an instinct for always knowing where his teammates were, or would be, on the court. He was an excellent tennis player and helped me improve my game and become more competitive. We played a lot of tennis in San Diego during my 2 years in the Navy and during his establishment of his law practice.
His death was a real shock to me. We had seen each other only sparingly in the few years before his passing, even though we were living what would be considered fairly close, him in San Diego and me in Phoenix. But I was caught up in my medical practice, focused with blinders on, and, regretfully, let some close friendships become distanced. I knew of the treatment he had been undergoing and from which he seemed to be in remission, but in typical Fred fashion, he did not reveal to me, or to our other roommates, the direness of his illness or its relapse. Fred kept his problems to himself and did not want anyone’s sympathy. When he died, I wondered if I should have done more to be a better friend during this time of his life.
I am thankful for some wonderful memories of our time at Yale and in the years afterward, and of times my wife, Jacque, and I spent with Fred and his wife Joy, who, parenthetically, was Jacque’s sorority sister at the University of Oklahoma. His death effected my wife and me deeply, and I think it was a significant factor in us living each day of our lives as if it were our last! What great legacy to leave anyone, Fred. Thank you, Fred, for having me as your friend.
John Luttrell remembers: Fred and I arrived together from dusty Oklahoma. We were high school classmates, though we were markedly different in other ways. Fred was a Yale legacy (as I recall), who therefore knew at least a few things about which I hadn’t a clue. He was also an extrovert and made more friends in three months than I did in four years. We lived on different parts of the Old Campus, and our paths diverged into different residential colleges; but I still remember Fred with gratitude because in his own ways he helped see me through some hard times, especially in freshman year.
Robert Leich remembers: Fred and room-mate Dave Strong were both friends and fellow “Berkelyites.” We kept up over the years at reunions and such and it was with much regret that I learned of his untimely passing. The 50th reunion won’t be complete without Fred with us. William Thomas remembers: Fred’s cancer took him early at age 55. He played on the Berkeley full-contact intramural football team which always seemed to beat out my JE contingent. I was a law partner of Fred’s in San Diego in the early 90’s. He was a remarkably gifted attorney. I think he studied law at the University of Oklahoma and served in the Navy JAGC for a few years. His lovely widow, Joy, retreated to Colorado following Fred’s untimely death. He had two wonderful kids, Fritz and Megan.
Gerard Doyle remembers: Fred was one of my roommates for our last three years in Berkeley. He was a good athlete, very well liked, and a good friend. Fred had a way of being serious and fun at the same time. He kept a picture of his high school sweetheart, Joy, on his desk throughout his college years. After Yale, Fred went back home to Oklahoma for law school and married Joy. He served in Navy JAG in San Diego, and then he and Joy settled there. My wife Paula and I visited them on occasion when I had business trips out there. We talked about our mutual experiences starting out in big law firms after time in the Navy and then opening our own practices. He had a beautiful family. On our last visit we could tell that Fred was ailing, but he would not talk about it. We were very sorry to find out that Fred passed away some time after that.