Doyal Ray Martin

Doyal Ray Martin, of Coleman, Oklahoma, passed from this life on Thursday, February 2, 2023, in Denison Texas at the age of 79. He was born on Sunday, April 11, 1943, near Lindsay, Oklahoma, to Dee and Minnie (Hartwick) Martin. Doyal loved life. His many hobbies included hunting, fishing, metal working, wood working, and sharing time with his family and friends. As a young boy Doyal enjoyed exploring the woods and rivers near their home. He fished for crawdads when he was five or six years old, using a string tied to a piece of bacon. He tells stories of his aunts coming for a visit, and in the sweltering summer nights lying in bed out under a big old cottonwood tree. and hearing her explain the stars in words that he understood and would always remember. She pointed out the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the North Star, and so on. He added that had his teachers been more like Aunt Jenny, he would have been a genius. On October 4, 1969, he was united in marriage to Sylvia Elaine Benge at the First Baptist Church in Coleman, Oklahoma. For 53 years they have enjoyed each other’s company; going to car races, rodeos, fishing on the Gulf, and attending family get-to-gathers. Doyal always told that his greatest gift was a 1952 Ford provided by his sister, Billie, and brother-in-law, J.C. Without this car Doyal would not have had a way to try to locate a job after graduating from high school. He later paid for the car, but he had it at a most critical time when he was looking for a paying job. School was difficult for Doyal; however, during the time he spent in the U.S. Army he learned that he had some exceptional talents. He readily admitted that his years in the military forever changed his life for the better. Following graduation from Coleman High School in 1962, Doyal spent days going from place to place trying to find a job. Finally, he went to Oklahoma City where he lived with his brother, Donald. Doyal learned that Coca-Cola was looking for workers. Work there was divided into three shifts and Doyal was offered his choice of two. He said he wanted both. Although management was skeptical about Doyal’s ability to work 16 hours daily, he was hired. He worked more than two years loading and unloading Coca Cola trucks, going home, eating, showering, going to bed and repeating this routine over again the next day. In 1963, Doyal determined that his efforts to gain suitable employment were being thwarted by the fact that his military status was 1-A. He volunteered for the draft and on July 16, 1963, he was sent to Ft. Polk, Louisiana for basic training in the United States Army. He often said that unless you go through boot camp in the sweltering swamps of western Louisiana in August, you could never understand the unrelenting heat. From there he received a choice assignment to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, for specialized training in hydraulics and electronics. His class consisted of six Americans and six Germans. After completing the course, Doyal and his classmates were designated as Ballistic Rocket Motors and Structures Repairmen, specifically for the Sergeant Missile. To his amazement, Doyal finished number 1 in the class. This assignment was the extreme highlight of Doyal’s tour of military duty. His final months of service were in Germany, not Vietnam. Doyal could fix almost anything, was willing to help anyone, and enjoyed swapping stories including the ones recorded by his sister, Billie. She recalls how he wanted his stories written exactly as his recollection, no embellishments. He told stories of events on the phone, and Billie took notes, typed up what she thought he had said, then emailed it to him. Shortly thereafter the phone would ring. “This just isn’t quite right he would say.” It always took several tries before the story was approved. Doyal had a successful career working as a Machinist Programmer for Demco in Oklahoma City, and for Texas Instruments and Raytheon in Sherman, TX. He drove 120 miles daily for 23 years from his home in Coleman to Sherman, Texas. Doyal was a member of the Folsom Free Will Baptist Church of Coleman, Oklahoma. His mother was a member of the church for her entire life, and his great-grandfather, R.C. Bonds was a co-founder of the reorganized church and served as its first pastor in 1933. Besides his parents, Doyal was preceded in death by his brother Donald Martin, nephew, Gary Don Martin… He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Elaine, of Coleman, Oklahoma; two sons, Christopher Lee and his wife, Shannon, of Kenefic, Oklahoma, Donnie Ray and his wife, Wanda, of McAlester, Oklahoma; grandchildren by birth and by marriage, Dante Martin and Lilli Martin of McAlester, Oklahoma, Riley Wilson and Collin Wilson of Kenefic, Oklahoma. His sister, Billie Dean, and husband, Bill Buckles of Alva, step-sister Quinnia Yates of Rockchester Hills, Michigan, his nephews Bruce Martin and his wife, Mila of Oklahoma City, Dennis J. Dean and his wife Gay Nell of Tulsa, Russell Dean and his wife Tamara of Weatherford, Texas. The Lord’s Prayer Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Romans 6:3-5 Do you not know that all of who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrect. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.brownsfuneralservice.com. https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/4Y2TYLKPSXH47YKY

Doyal Ray Martin

April 11, 1943 - February 2, 2023