Dr. James C. "Jay" Martin

Jay, as he was known to many, was born on October 10, 1944, in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, to Geneva and Cecil Martin. At age 19, he pastored his home church while continuing to pursue higher education, culminating in earning his Doctor of Ministry degree from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1977.

Jay’s passion was pastoral counseling, resulting in a shift in his career trajectory to becoming a mental health professional. He spent several years as a chaplain at a psychiatric facility, counseling patients and leading group therapy sessions, valuing his tutelage under the lead psychiatrist. His work there led him to accept the position of Counselor at the Central Oklahoma Cancer Center at Southwest Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where, for thirteen years, he guided hundreds of cancer patients and families through their cancer journey. Dr. Martin established the Center for Families in Transition in 1992, where he specialized in counseling couples, stepfamilies, trauma survivors, and anyone in a life transition.

Following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, Jay counseled numerous clients and family members, helping them process the trauma of the event. He became affiliated with the Green Cross Academy of Traumatology, an international, non-profit, humanitarian assistance organization initially organized to serve a need in Oklahoma City by providing trauma relief to first responders, healthcare professionals, and the community by deploying trained volunteers to disaster sites. Dr. Martin helped establish the Oklahoma Traumatology Institute, a Green Cross-affiliated training site through which he led field traumatology and compassion fatigue seminars in Canada, Kenya, and throughout the United States. He was deployed numerous times to work with first responders in New York City and New Jersey following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

In 2010, after moving to Colorado (his life-long dream), he relocated the Center for Families in Transition to Colorado Springs and established the Rocky Mountain Traumatology Institute. The Colorado Association for Marriage and Family Therapy awarded him the Therapist of the Year in 2013. In the final years of his career, Dr. Martin was an adjunct faculty member in the graduate counseling program at Regis University in Colorado Springs, cultivating a new generation of mental health professionals. He was passionate about his work, clients, and students and continued to do the work until a few weeks before his death.

Dr. Martin was a Clinical Fellow with the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT), an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, a Clinical Fellow with the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and the Director of the Center for Families in Transition.

He married Sherry Hendricks on September 20, 1995. He was devoted to his son, Jimmy Martin of Evanston, Illinois, and his wife Lauren and Jay’s two beloved granddaughters, Emma and Hallie. He cherished his blended family: Daughters Deanna Wilkinson of Norman, Oklahoma, and Stacy Hendricks of Scottsdale, Arizona; Grandsons Anthony Wilkinson of Norman, Oklahoma, and TJ Wilkinson of Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the entire Jones family, who always welcomed him with open arms.

Jay had a great love for the outdoors, fishing in the mountain lakes of Colorado, especially Chapman Lake near the Frying Pan River. He loved making his delicious cornbread and hush puppies and cooking the rainbow trout he caught to share with family and friends. He enjoyed woodworking, spending many hours creating pieces for sale at local fairs and markets, joyfully making gifts for family and friends. He was an avid reader, gardener, and sports fan devoted to the University of Oklahoma football program and Texas Rangers baseball.

Jay will be remembered for his kind heart, thoughtful nature, and warm and wonderful sense of humor - a father, husband, grandfather, teacher, colleague, and friend who is loved and will be missed by many.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, April 13th, at 2:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 20 E. St. Vrain St., Colorado Springs, 80903.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Joseph’s Indian School in South Dakota, a non-profit Native American school dedicated to improving the quality of life for Lakota (Sioux) children.

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Jay’s children are compiling stories and lessons from Jay to continue his legacy. To share how Jay impacted your life or the wisdom he conveyed, please email Deanna at djoneshendricks@gmail.com.