SANBORNTON ---- Kenneth Sidney “Ken” Martin, 74, of Sanbornton, NH, passed away peacefully at home on February 8, 2021. Ken spent his last weeks in his favorite chair with a view of the lake he so loved, attended closely by his family and the wonderful nurses, caregivers, and staff from the Lakes Region Visiting Nurse Association.
Ken was born on February 10, 1946, in Biddeford, ME, son to the late Sidney and Evelyn (Forrest) Martin.
As a young man, Ken joined the US Army in 1966, and deployed to Vietnam in 1967 with H-Troop 17th Cavalry, 198th Infantry Brigade. Sergeant Martin was honorably discharged in 1968, and returned home to start a long and productive post-war life, unlike so many others who served and sacrificed. If you know a veteran, young or old, reach out to them today. Kindness is a free and renewable energy source.
Ken was a natural salesman with the gift of gab and a disarming charm - ideal qualities for a career in the hospitality industry that included group sales at the Mt. Washington Hotel and culminated with his retirement in 2014 as Director of Sales at Hampton Inn Concord. Part time work and consultation kept him busy in later years with his national network of contacts and reputation as a “closer” keeping him in high demand.
On hot summer days you could find him treating family and friends to high-speed runs on the Sea-Doo or leisurely tours on the boat. He loved being on the lake and shared that experience whenever he could.
Ken was brave and proud to the end and his memory lives on with those who had the good fortune to know him.
Beloved husband, father, brother, soldier, and friend, he is survived by his wife, Doris; son, Kenny; sister, Doreen; brother, Brian; and step-children, Paul, Ann, and Christine.
Services will be held at a later date.
For those who wish, the family suggests memorial donations in Ken’s name be made to Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301 or to the Hero Pups, 20 Portsmouth Ave., #127, Stratham, NH 03885.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.