Thomas W. Martin Jr., age 87, of Elkhart passed away at 6:15 pm Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 at Greenleaf Health Center. Tom was born Feb. 21, 1924 in South Bend, Indiana to the late Thomas and Ruth (Keebler) Martin. After graduation from Riley High School, Tom enlisted in the US Army Air Corps during WWII where he was a gunner on a B-17 Bomber. His plane was shot down during battle, and Tom was a Prisoner of War for 16 months in Austria. Upon his honorable discharge and release from the military, he married Elizabeth Vanslager in South Bend on October 2, 1948.
Surviving is his wife Elizabeth of Elkhart, and their daughters, Jacqueline M. Heber of Milwaukee, WI, and Rosemary (Mark) Peschke of Camden, IN. Also surviving is his brother Jack Martin of TX, and 2 grandchildren, Chris (Cheree) Heber Seoul, S. Korea, and Sara (Ryan) Flora of Columbus, GA. Tom was preceded in death by his brothers George and Gerald.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to the 11:30 am funeral serviceon Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Chapel Hill Funeral Home in Osceola. Military honors and interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola.
Tom was employed by Selmer in Elkhart for 30 years as an assembler and tester of saxophones and clarinets. He was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Elkhart for many years. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing the saxophone and clarinet, fly fishing, and learning the history of the Civil War and World War II. He also was a member of the Elkhart County Flightmasters where he built and flew remote control airplanes.
In his memory, donations may be made to the charity of the donor''s choice.