Reverend Maurice Ray Martin, 92, of McKinney, TX, passed away on Thursday, September 29, 2022 at the Carrollton Regional Medical Center. Maurice was born on September 9, 1930 in Whitewright, TX to Clarence Leroy Martin and his wife, Osie Mae Watson. Following the death of his mother when he was just three years old, Maurice was raised by his maternal aunt, Ruby Lee, and her husband F. O. Mangrum.
After graduating from Sherman High School in 1948, Maurice served in the United States Air Force and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. Shortly after leaving the service, in 1951 he married Lynda Lee Madison, also of Sherman. In June 1958, he earned a BA from Austin College. He later attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and received a Bachelor of Divinity degree in July 1963.
As a young man, Maurice dedicated his life to serving our Lord, Jesus Christ. For more than 50 years, he served in various ministerial roles at churches throughout North Texas including: First Baptist Church Whitewright, First Baptist Church Gordonville, First Baptist Church Savoy, First Baptist Church
Farmersville, First Baptist Church North of Plano (now Hunters Glen Baptist), and Hampton Place Baptist Church until his retirement in 1995. In the 1970s, he also served as Missions Superintendent for the Collin County Baptist Association.
With a strong desire to continue serving Jesus, in 1999 Maurice chose to forego retirement, and accepted the call to become the founding pastor for the White Bluff Chapel located in Whitney, Texas.
Following the death of his first wife, Maurice married Kathleen Ann Allphin, widow of Richard Gayle Van Tyne, Sr. on January 22, 2005 at the White Bluff Chapel. Upon his second retirement in 2009, the Martins moved to McKinney, Texas.
Maurice was preceded in death by two brothers – Leroy and Lonnie; a sister, Rosemarie; his first wife, Lynda; his son, Judge Steven Leslie Martin; and his daughter, Susan Michelle Spataro.
He is survived by his wife of seventeen years, Kathy Van Tyne Martin; the Van Tyne family and his son-in-law Frank Spataro.
A Celebration of Life and interment will be held at White Bluff Chapel and Columbarium.
In lieu of remembrances, the family requests that donations be made to the American Diabetes Association or the American Cancer Society.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.teddickeywestfuneral.com for the Martin family.
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