Jerry Martin

JERRY CHAMBERS MARTIN February 6, 1933 - November 5, 2013 Jerry Chambers Martin, the former chief speech writer for then California governor Ronald Reagan and longtime journalist passed away from a heart attack on Tuesday, November 5 , in Bluffton, SC where he had lived for the past five years. Martin was born in Austin TX, the sixth of eight children. He joined the US Air Force in 1950 serving three years, mainly as editor of the base newspaper at Misawa AFB in Japan. After leaving the service, Jerry worked for several news organizations, including AP, UPI, and the Oakland, CA Tribune where he became chief editorial writer in charge of editorial page policy. While there he was a three-time winner of the Freedoms Foundation George Washington Honor Medal for distinguished editorial writing. In 1969, he joined Gov. Reagan's staff as Assistant to the Governor for Research. He soon became the governor's chief speech writer, working closely with the governor on more than 300 speeches. In addition, he wrote investigative reports, TV scripts, legislative messages, etc. In 1976 he joined the public relations department of Chevron Corp. in San Francisco, CA where he worked until his retirement in 1995. There he oversaw the speech-writing efforts for the chief executives, managed and edited several in-house publications and for several years oversaw the publication of Chevron's annual reports and other financial publications. After retirement, Jerry remained active in the political activities in Vacaville, CA where he resided for 30 years. He worked on three supervisorial political campaigns, was a member of the citizens committee which worked on creating the Rural North Vacaville Water District, and served two terms on the Solano County Grand Jury. During this period he and his wife, Helen, traveled the US with their dogs and also traveled to Europe four times. He was also involved with a veterans' group who served in northern Japan during the Korean War. Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Helen of Bluffton SC; a daughter from a previous marriage, Kelly Martin of Sacramento; a sister, Joyce Baker of Seattle, WA; a brother, and former journalist Jack D. Martin of Omaha, NE, and numerous nieces and nephews. Services will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd, Bluffton, SC. At 6:30 pm. Interment will be held at the Colfax Cemetery, Colfax IL on Nov. 19 at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers the family requests any memorial donations be made to Wounded Warriors Foundation, the Gary Sinise Foundation, or the Salvation Army.Services will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd, Bluffton, SC. At 6:30 pm. Interment will be held at the Colfax Cemetery, Colfax IL on Nov. 19 at 1 pm.