Heather Wright/The Independent

Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott says the community has lost an intelligent, giving volunteer with the passing of Leland Martin.

The 92 year-old died suddenly Dec. 24 at University Hospital in London.

Martin grew up in a farm in Colchester Township near the Harrow Agriculture Research Farm. He would move to Sarnia to work for Dow Chemical in the division which supplied pesticides and insecticides to the agriculture industry.

The Martin family lived in Sarnia for 17 years, but Leland longed to have a piece of land of his own to farm. So, the family moved to Ennskillen Township in the 1970s.

In his obituary, Martin’s family writes: “When Leland wasn’t camping in his fifth wheel with family, he could be seen mowing grass, entertaining his grandchildren, and sitting on the back deck with a glass of Jack enjoying the back yard with mom, the birds, and/or his cat and dog.  He loved his home and environs on Oil Heritage Road. The daffodils he planted at the edge of the bush still adorn the perimeter of that property every spring. He was always busy fixing and restoring old tractors and motors to their former glory, proudly displaying them in the yard across from the garage.”

Martin also took an active role in the community.

He became the chair of Victoria Playhouse Petrolia’s board of directors when the theater stood on the brink of bankruptcy. He served there from 1978 to 1983.

Then, Martin became Enniskillen’s representative for Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hosptial at Bluewater Health. Martin was smack dab in the middle of the fight to keep CEE open – and not always on the right side advocating at first to close the small, then struggling hospital. “It seemed logical to join forces,” Martin told The Independent in 2022.

In the face of community anger and strong arguments to keep CEEH open, Martin changed his mind.

“I felt that was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done because we came this close,” he said at the time, holding up two fingers “to being closed. It was a stressful time and through the efforts of the local people here…we succeeded in keeping it open and it has become just a wonderful facility.”

Martin was then hand picked to sit on the boards of the new, and controversial, Local Health Integration Network. The provincial appointees had to find a way to meld several district health councils and other health care delivery agencies together, including home health care.

He also served on the Central Lambton Family Health Team board and was part of the planning body for the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team when he was in his 90s.

Martin also served two terms on the Lambton Police Service Board for the local OPP.

And he was also active in Petrolia Minor Hockey when his children were playing, setting up an officiating program for the association in 1982.

In 2022, Enniskillen Township named Martin the Senior of the Year.

Marriott, who presented him with the award at the time, cannot say enough about the impact Martin had on the community.

Martin, Marriott says, was “always happy” to help the community. “He was a guy that wouldn’t say no, especially for community things. I just can’t say enough about his demeanor, how happy he was to do any of those things, when asked.”

A celebration of life will be held Sat. Jan. 31 from 1:30 to 4 pm at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia.