Ross
Ross "Sandy" Sanford Martin

May 25, 1941 - January 9, 2021

Obituary

It is with our deepest sorrow that we announce that Ross "Sandy" Sanford Martin, 79, born on May 25, 1941 in Pittsfield, MA passed away peacefully on January 9, 2021 at Hope Health Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, RI. (and was a former resident of Hebert Nursing Home, N. Smithfield RI). Son of the late Jacob and Eleanor (Harrison) Martin formerly of Pittsfield, MA, and beloved father to daughters Christine Martin Gulec of Coventry, RI and Amy Beth Martin of Ponte Vedra, FL; beloved grandfather to Michael A. Gulec of N. Kingstown, RI and Kayla C. Gulec of E. Haven, CT; Ross is also survived by his former wife Lynn F. Martin of Ponte Vedra, FL and sister Carole Martin Lipsitt, her husband Cyrus Lipsitt of Worcester, MA and their children Alisa and Adam.

Ross graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1958, and even after being told he wasn’t college material, Ross went on to graduate from Syracuse University School of Electrical Engineering in 1962 and became a System Engineer for IBM Corporation in July 1962 in Endicott, NY where he and his family lived for 6 years. Ross and his family were then transferred to Herndon, VA in 1974 for 2 years and then finally to the Newport, RI Naval Base in 1976 where he often worked on the Newport Naval Submarines. After working for IBM for 30 years Ross retired in September 1992. Rhode Island became a beloved home for Ross and his family for just over 44 years.

Ross was born with a passion and love for basketball that carried on into his late adult years, and his favorite past time to this day was following the professional college basketball games. Ross had a brilliant, quick mind and quirky and corny sense of humor. He loved going to Beavertail in Jamestown, RI and anything to do with the ocean and nature; he also enjoyed tinkering and building things around the house, photography, as well as, spending quality time with family camping, going to “the cottage,” or spending time in Florida and at Disney. Ross even mentioned that he often thought about writing a book someday about all of the beautiful memories that the family has created and shared together.

Ross was a member of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wickford, RI for many years. He was deeply loved and will be dearly missed by many. His family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the amazing staff at Hope Hospice and Palliative Care in Providence RI, as well as, his favorite CNA “Red” from Hebert Nursing Home in N. Smithfield, RI, and Archdeacon Bill Sexton of the Church of the Apostles in Coventry, RI for all of the deep compassion, care and kindness shown to Ross, and our family during this time of great sorrow.

The family welcomes a donation to Hope Hospice and Palliative Care of RI, 1085 N Main St., Providence, RI 02904 https://www.hopehealthco.org/ways-to-give/memorial-giving/

or Church of the Apostles, 170 Fairview Ave., Coventry, RI 02816
https://apostlesri.org/giving/

A 'Celebration of Life' gathering will be held privately for the family at a future date.

Memories and condolences are also welcome on this site.

Guestbook

Services

Funeral Home
Fagan-Quinn Funeral Home
825 Boston Neck Road
North Kingstown, RI US 02852
2024-11-24T

Charities

Hope Health
1085 North Main Street
Providence, RI USA 02904
Church of the Apostles
170 Fairview Ave
Coventry, Rhode Island 02816