James F. Martinek

James F. Martinek, 71, of South Bethany Beach, DE died on August 27th, 2015 in Oakland, MD. James was born on July 6th, 1944 in Baltimore, MD. He was the son of the late John F. and Lorraine Martinek.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon, of 50 years, son Steven (Debbie) and their 2 children, daughter Cheryl Hoyt (Joey) and their 2 children, son Phillip (Lisa) and their 2 children and grand-daughter, son Michael (Rebecca) and their 4 children. He is also survived by his brothers, Ronald, Donald and John, his sister, Barbara Weaver, along with numerous nieces and nephews.

James was a graduate of Bel Air High School and attended the University of Maryland. He was a member of St. Mark's Catholic Church in Fallston, MD, St. Ann's Catholic Church in Bethany, DE and St. Peter's Catholic Church in Oakland, MD.

James retired from AT&T in Hunt Valley, MD as an electrical engineer with 31 years of service. He was then a consultant with Verizon in Savage, MD for 5 years.

James lived in Fallston, MD until he retired, then he traveled between Bethany Beach and Oakland, MD so he could hunt and fish whenever he wanted.

James was a member of the Elks Lodge in Oakland, MD and Ocean City, MD. He also enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels in DE and activities at the Senior Center in Ocean View, DE. Previously he was a member of the Lions Club in Fallston, MD. He also served as Cubmaster of the Cub Scout Pack 801 and Assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 801 at St. Mark's Catholic Church from 1977 to 1989. He was also a member of the Parish Council at St. Mark's Catholic Church. He enjoyed helping his neighbors.

James donated his organs and tissue to the Living Legacy Foundation.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to a charity of your choice.

Some folks would start off by saying what a good man Jim was but I am not going to do that. In reality he was a great man and it should be stated that way and known to all that he was truly great.

I have only known Jim for the last 20 years of his incredible life. I married his only daughter whom he loved very much and would do anything for her. He was a very stubborn man that was set in his ways as everyone knows but he cared so much about his family and loved them all tremendously. He always seemed to be on the go for as long as I can remember. At one point, we all thought he was running from the IRS since you could never pin him down in one location. I would say witness protection but we all know he was a saint. Ha-ha.

He stayed so busy finding different projects to work on from his own to others in the communities in which he lived. He was the absolute handyman to so many people and loved doing it. He was probably the smartest man I have ever known. His knowledge of everything was amazing and I will miss that I can't learn more from him. His mind always seemed to be working overtime that is why he could never complete a project. Just kidding. I wouldn't have a home if he were not there to guide us along and basically do all of the work. I look around my house now and I know that he repaired, fixed or installed most things. He will be forever a part of our household because of these things. He never complained about little projects when he showed up on our doorstep and sometimes he even created his own so he could keep busy.

I will miss the late night card games of pay me, Uno, and all of the scrabble games that we played over the years. He always loved to try and beat me and we both won our fair share over the years. However, I think the games he won he was keeping score so we had to get Cheryl to keep score most of the time.

He loved to play games with his grandchildren as well. As you have looked around at all of the photos you can just see the pleasure he had by teaching them different games and just all around having fun with them. He so much loved his kids, his grandkids and his family.

Switching gears a little now. We also had a great time blowing things up when I visited the mountains. Well I think he had fun until I blew up the Tannerite and the neighbor came down to complain. Apparently, she did not like her pictures falling off the walls and expressed that sentiment to Jim. He took it all in stride and she eventually got over it. However, I was not allowed to fill up 2 liter bottles of Tannerite anymore.

I want to say something specifically to my wife and kids. I hope that one-day that I will be half the man of your grandfather and your father. He has set the bar pretty high but I will try. To Sharon, know that he loved you very much. To Steve, Phil and Mike he was so happy with the fine men he raised and would do anything for you guys. He loved you guys tremendously. To his brothers and sister. Although, he was stubborn and fought with you all at one time or another he loved you all very much.

To the rest of his family and friends please know that he was the kind gentle hearted man that would do anything for anyone. That it was not fake it was real and he was genuine in his life.

God bless you James Francis Martinek and may one day we see each other again. Thank you again for allowing me to call you dad. Rest in peace knowing that we will continue your legacy.