Jesse Carroll Martin Jr.

Jesse (Jay) Martin, of Albuquerque, NM, passed away on September 23, 2026, after seven weeks of hospitalization related to heart and respiratory failure after a pulmonary embolism.Jay was born in Newport News, Virginia, the youngest of three raised by their single mother, Pauline Stewart. He grew up in Newport News, and after high school left for college at Virginia Tech. His academics were interrupted many times, across many years, by folk music and cards. He played six and twelve string guitar, banjo, and sang with gusto in a clear, deep baritone at house parties, coffee shops, and any available front and back porch. Jay eventually graduated with a degree in political science. Playing bridge one night in Blacksburg, he met a fellow enthusiast, Dolores (Dee) Tremewan. They married and had three children. They were married for 39 years. Across this time, as Dee's career as an economist took them to Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Washington, Jay wore many hats, as he tried to find in a career the same passion he felt for music. He was a 7th grade PE teacher, a traveling pharmaceutical salesman, a bank teller. He sold real estate, designed kitchens, wrote and attempted to publish a fantasy novel. He worked for the National Gasohol Association and later as a weatherization specialist. In his early 50s, he returned to college and earned a second bachelor's and then a master's degree in communicative disorders and became a speech-language pathologist. He loved this work, which tapped his deep well of generosity and desire to serve others. He worked first with children at elementary schools and then at a school for the deaf. Then, after many years working at nursing and assisted living homes helping stroke victims regain the ability to speak and swallow, he joined the faculty at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales as an instructor and Clinical Supervsior, where he cherished his colleagues and students, and where twenty years earlier, he'd earned his degrees and found his calling. He retired, reluctantly, from ENMU at 81 and moved to Albuquerque to be near family. In the last four years of his life, Jay was a devoted resident at Bear Canyon Estates, where he made deep friendships. He founded the Residents Council and the 3:30 Friday Happy Hour, serving as a gregarious and discerning bartender. Jay was a proud, loving father and grandfather. He loved conversation and camaraderie and could find common ground with anyone, across any divide, easily. He loved pecan pie beyond reason.Jay was preceded in death by his mother, Pauline, his sisters, Lillian and Edna, and his ex-wife, Dee, the great love of his life. He is survived by his sons Christopher and Gregory, his daughter Anna, his daughters-in-law Mary and Christine, his grandchildren Jesse, Oliver, Evan, Nebula and River, and his sweet pup Danny.A Celebration of Life will be held at 2pm on Sunday, October 25, 2026 at Bear Canyon Estates. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Pauline Stewart Memorial Scholarship, a fund started by Jay to remember his mother by recognizing talented students majoring in communicative disorders. 

https://giving.enmu.edu/g/mr-jesse-jay-martin-memorial (QR code below)