Obituary of Bradley Peter Martin

Brad approached his death the way he approached everything in life: He was patient, fearless and matter of fact. He maintained his curiosity and interest in the people around him. His strength never wavered.

 

Brad was born in Shaunavon, Sask. He was Al and Jackie’s first born, and Bertha and Awald’s first grandson. They lived on the family farm until Brad was five years old, then moved to Denzil, where Brad’s grandparents owned the Denzil Hotel & Bar. Brad loved spending time with his grandfather and fixing himself meals in the hotel cafe. He was a caregiver and a role model to his five younger siblings. When the family moved to Regina in Brad’s teenage years, he attended high school at Thom Collegiate, where he met his best friend Tim Holt. They rode motorcycles and played pool, worked together at Gondola Pizza, and created lifelong memories while living in Markinch.

 

Brad’s first job in a four-decade sheet metal work career was the west side expansion at Taylor Field. Brad spent a lot of time there over the years, obtaining season tickets for the Riders in 1995 (Section 102, then 511). A member since 1980 of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 296, Brad founded BM Metalworks Inc. in 1993 and ran a successful business until he retired in 2015. Driving around Saskatchewan, it’s hard to miss Brad’s work: The Shand Power Station in Estevan, the Mosaic potash mines in Esterhazy, the Regina airport, the former Sask. Transportation Company (STC) building, and the brown siding outside his Pasqua Hospital window are among hundreds of jobs he worked. Always meticulous, Brad believed you should do it right the first time, whether it was building a shed, a fence or a massive cedar box to hold all his daughters’ toys.

 

Brad fell in love at first sight when he met Deb in 1982. Both living in the Crowsnest Pass, they married in April 1983 and moved in December to Regina. Here, they raised their three daughters, who were Brad’s pride and joy. As a young family, the ‘original five’ camped close to home and travelled to visit Deb’s family in New Brunswick. As the kids got older, Brad and Deb vacationed together all over the world, including the Cook Islands, the Amalfi Coast, Caribbean islands, Europe, and across Canada for Rider games and annual Grey Cup trips. Brad and Deb were usually the first to the party and the last to leave — including their special 30^th anniversary trip to Paris, where they were the last two people in sight beneath the Eiffel Tower. Deb will cherish countless memories of their travels together.

 

Brad loved music, and while he didn’t play any instruments himself, he enjoyed hearing friends and family play. Brad also loved (and invested lots of work into) the property on Last Mountain Lake. His perfect day there consisted of boating, a well-done barbecue for supper, and drinking a few Molson Canadians around a beach campfire. Above all else, Brad’s greatest pleasure in life was spending time with Deb and his girls.

 

Brad was predeceased by his father Alvin, parents-in-law Rose and Earl Brown, and the best dog in the world, Molly. Grieving his loss are: Deborah, his wife of 37 years; daughters Ashley (Judd Stachoski), Justine (Dan St. Onge), and Alexandra (Mat Kavanagh); his loving mother Jackie; siblings Barry (Candace, MacKenzie and MacKayla), Michelle (Jordan and Kolby Keens), Kelly, Trevor, and Shawn (Andrea, Nathan and Emrey); brothers-in-law Tim Brown and Wayne (Tracey) Brown; nephew Cody (who was like a son to Brad) and his new wife Stephanie; sisters-in-law Darlene Brown and Colleen Brown; and more friends than we could name.

 

We will be forever grateful to the nurses and staff in Pasqua 3A (particularly Kara, Bonny, Shanna, Sharon and Shannon, and doctors Johnson, Baumann and Moulla), the palliative homecare team (including Kendra, Pam and Scott), Allan Blair Cancer Centre staff and doctors Zarkovic and Suderman, and St. Paul’s Hospital unit 5A.

Brad’s ashes will be interred alongside his grandparents at Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in Regina, where a small private graveside service is scheduled for Dec. 4.

If you wish to honour him, consider: donating to a charity he supported and believed in (specifically, the Royal Canadian Legion, Salvation Army, or Telemiracle), toasting some Bushwakker mead or a cold Canadian, and cranking the volume on some Pink Floyd.