Cecil "Steve" Martin

Cecil Steven Martin, age 67 of Fishers, Indiana passed away on Friday afternoon, September 8, 2023, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

"Steve" was born on April 3, 1956, in Walnut Creek, California, a son of Cecil Huey and Shirley Ann (Lundeen) Martin.

He married his high school sweetheart, Diana VanPelt, on June 12, 1976, in Pittsburg, California.  Steve and Diana met at Pacifica High School in Pittsburg when she was a freshman and he was a junior and they married two days after Diana graduated.  They were married for 47 years, and he always made sure she received her favorite yellow roses for every anniversary and birthday.

Steve joined the United States Air Force in 1975 and completed his active-duty service as a Staff Sergeant.  While serving, he worked on the night-vision and radar for the F-4 fighter jets.  He continued his service to the military as a civilian Computer Security Specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio until his retirement in 2012.  

Steve was a very proud Veteran and was known to go out of his way to thank a fellow Veteran for their service.  He also volunteered as a guardian on Honor Flight to assist World War II Veterans visit Washington D.C. war memorials.  His father was his hero and Steve was very proud of his father’s military service in the Army during the Korean War. 

He loved researching his family's genealogy, playing trivia, photography, fishing, following the 49ers and Raiders NFL football teams, staying up to date with politics and freely expressing his opinion about it all.   Muscle cars were something he loved all throughout his life and was in the process of restoring a 1969 Chevelle.  He was very proud to take it to the Hot Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky in 2010 and intended to pass it on to his grandsons with the promise that no one would change the custom black metal flake and realistic flame paint job.

Steve loved a good Mexican or Chinese restaurant as well as a nice cold Miller Lite draft in a frozen glass.  He was silly and always delivered a great "dad-joke" and smirked as he waited for the anticipated groan and eye roll from his daughter.  He also really loved coaching his daughter's softball teams when she was younger and was very proud of forming a competitive traveling softball team.  

Steve and Diana loved to travel and enjoyed many trips across the country together as well as multiple cruises, with Alaska and London being their favorites.  He often said that Alaska was the most beautiful place on earth.

With Steve's passion for technology, he gladly helped family, friends, and neighbors with their computer issues over the years.  He loved to keep in contact with friends and family on social media and was known to host his own online trivia games on his Facebook page for everyone to join in.  He also became a HAM radio operator and loved to talk to anyone willing to respond to him.  One Christmas Eve, he sat with his grandsons and listened for Santa Claus on his radio.

Above all, Steve loved and valued his family and close friends whom he considered family.  He often reminisced of times when his parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins would get together for meals, games, stories, and good times.  His favorite holiday was Thanksgiving because it solely focused on family and being grateful without the commercialism.  He treasured his grandsons and tried to make as many memories with them as possible from road trips, baseball games, holidays, fishing, taking them to the Air Force Museum in Dayton and explaining all he knew about airplanes and military history.

He touched many people's lives and will be truly missed by everyone, near and far.

He is survived by his wife, Diana Martin of Fishers, Indiana as well as his only daughter, Niki and son-in-law, Scott Jones and his two grandsons, Jackson and Carson Jones of McCordsville, Indiana.  He is also survived by his brother Greg (Trina) Martin of Pendleton, Indiana and his sister, Nancy Mock of Winston, Oregon as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Cecil "Dick" and Shirley Martin. 

A family and friends graveside service will be held on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 1:00 PM in the Veterans National Cemetery section of Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Please dress comfortably and casual for the service in honor of Steve.  He didn’t like getting dressed up and much preferred sweatpants and jeans.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the American Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Support organization at AMENSupport.org in memory of Steve.  Their mission is to provide support to the families of and people with MEN Type 1, 2a and 2b, and subsequent subsets of MEN.  They do this through public awareness, advocacy and education which empowers MEN Families and Individuals, in making well informed medical decisions in their treatment and MEN care.