Mark Martin

Mark Martin, 66, of Baker City, passed away at his home on January 2, 2026.

Mark Allen Martin was born in Bloomington, Indiana on March 30, 1959 to Bill and Dorothy Martin. Mark was the oldest of three children. He had a sister Stephanie, who was 2 years younger, and brother Zachery, who was 5 years younger. Mark was very active, even from an early age. By the time Mark was around 10 years of age he had developed a passion for the outdoors. He enjoyed fishing and hunting in the streams and woods by his house. He would often bring home fish that he had caught. His dad would often say “if you catch-em, you clean-em” so after cleaning them, his mom would happily cook the fish up with whatever they were having that night for dinner.
One time Mark lost the privilege of using his BB gun for a while, but that didn’t deter him in the least. Mark didn’t skip a beat. He grabbed his bow-n-arrow and headed right back out the first chance he got. That night he brought home a rabbit and like before, his Mom added it to the dinner meal that evening.

Mark always enjoyed the Native American ways and how they respected the land and used every part of the game that they would hunt, letting nothing go to waste. Mark decided to teach himself how to tan the animal skins he was collecting. He even tried his hand at building his own arrows. Creating arrow heads from stone he collected and feathers from the birds he had hunted. Mark loved learning how to do things.

Mark moved from Indiana to Illinois with his family and then to Kentucky where he attended and graduated from Russell High School. Mark stayed in Kentucky for over a year and worked at the Raceland Car shop building coal cars for the C&O and B&O railroads. Mark would eventually move to Washington State, where his family had relocated.

While in Washington he would work as a counter man at various NAPA auto parts stores. Mark loved the hunting and fishing opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. He was happiest in the great outdoors and up in the mountains. Mark made his way to Yakima, Washington for a while. There, he decided he would truly try his hand at living off the land. He purposely found a cave, in the wild, and for three months he would survive on only what he could hunt or catch.
Eventually, Mark moved to Bandon, Oregon for a year and then to Reedsport, Oregon where he would meet and marry Lori and have two daughters, Nichole and Michelle. While in Reedsport, Mark would work as a counter man for another NAPA store, a service station attendant, a funeral home driver, and finally as a purchaser for Umpqua River Navigation. Sadly, the marriage to Lori ended in divorce.

Mark would marry again, this time to Kathy Keating. During their married time Mark and Kathy moved from Reedsport to Baker City, Oregon where he would work as a fabricator for the company, Natural Structures. Before retiring, Mark's last job, and by far his favorite, would be working for a gunsmith, creating precision firearms. Mark and Kathy separated and then unfortunately divorced after 13 years of marriage.

Mark’s later years were enjoyed in Baker City where he met many locals who also loved the great outdoors, fishing, and hunting. One of those locals was a special lady, Crystal Rhodes who was newly engaged to Mark prior to his death. Crystal was by his side when Mark’s life unexpectedly ended on January 2, 2026.
Mark Allen Martin will be missed by many and was loved by all. He was welcomed into heaven and has now joined his loving dad, mom and sister. Mark enjoyed life and lived it hard sometime, and some times a little reckless, but always on his own terms. Rest in peace, big brother, you will always be in my heart and in my mind. I will always love and miss you. Toksa ake, Lakota for “I’ll see you again”

Your brother Zach

Online condolences can be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com