We regret to announce the passing of Rev. Warren G. Martens, 83, ofBurton, WV, on the morning of June 14, 2012 at Monongalia General Hospital in Morgantown, WV.
He was born December 21, 1928 in College Point, NY, the only child of the late Gustave and Margaret Martens. After receiving degrees from Central College in Pella, Iowa, and New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, NJ, he was ordained by the Classis of Orange of New York in 1955. While attending seminary he did pastoral clinical training, under the auspices of The City of New York, in Independence, Iowa, Philadelphia, PA, and The City of New York. In 1953 he married Margaret E. Hunt, a nursing graduate from Burton, WV.
After serving as Pastor to churches in Callicoon Center, NY and Youngsville, NY, he began a Pastorate at the Levittown Community Church in Levittown, New York, then at The Pequannock Reformed Church in Wayne, NJ.In 1964 he began 26 years of service at the Clarkstown Reformed Church in West Nyack, NY. In 1996, he retired from the First Federated Church of Kerhonkson, NY after six years as Pastor.
At retirement, he and Margaret happily moved to their first owned home, on their beautiful property in Burton, WV. There they attended the Harmony Baptist Church and became involved with the community and religious activities of the Burton, Hundred, and Mannington area.
For ten years he was a Lieutenant-Commander of the Chaplain Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve, during which he saw duty in West Germany and The Netherlands. He was also a Part-Time Chaplain at both Rockland Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg, NY, and Pomona Health Complex in Pomona, NY, during his time at Clarkstown Reformed Church.
Throughout his life he supported the Boy and Cub Scouts of America, having attained the rank of Life Scout in his youth, and later serving as an Assistant Campmaster, Provisional Scoutmaster, and Cubmaster.
During his retirement, he held the title of National Chaplain of the Second Marine Corps Association. He and Margaret attended many American veteran reunions and other millitary-related functions across the country, and he faithfully corresponded with many other veterans from around the world.
He will be remembered by his friends and family for his dedication to the greater good, his sense of duty, hearty laughter, engaging humor, and his love for his wife and family. He loved to regale us with his knowledge of the military, religion, and the history of his family and America.
He is survived and missed by his wife Margaret, their sons Robert and his wife Marianne; Daniel and his wife Heather and their children Emily, Samuel, Thomas; Thomas and his wife Annette and their children Colleen, Kathleen, Victoria; his daughter Margie and her three children Michael, Jessica, Christopher; and two great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister-in-laws Dorothy Hunt of Burton, WV, Agnes Cline and her husband Chester of St. Clairsville, OH and first cousin Mathew Schreiner and his wife Joyce of Long Island NY.
Friends may call the Tennant Funeral Home in Hundred, WV from 2-4 & 7-9 PM Sunday.Funeral Services will be held in the Harmony Baptist Church, Burton WV at 11:00 AM Monday with the Pastor Linda Roberts officiating. Interment will follow in the Harmony Cemetery.
Hello, this message is for Robert Martens. I was watching the wonderful color video of the 1939 New York World's Fair by your Grandfather Mr. Gustave Martens on YouTube. It showed Warren as a boy with his mother. I wondered what became of this family and the young boy in the video from so long ago.. Then the next video showed more of Warren's father Gustave and mother Margaret through the years. The video after that showed Warren as a married young man on his honeymoon in 1953. I typed in Gustave Martens on the internet and that is when I saw this Obituary for Rev. Warren Martens. The young boy in the video of the 1939 New York World's Fair grew up to be a pastor and a loving husband and father passing away in 2012 at the age of 83. One of the videos showed the grave of his parents Gustave and Margaret passing in 1977 and 1981. Its ironic they both passed away at the same age of 77. It was nice to watch the videos you posted on YouTube and what became of the Martens family through the many long years that have passed since the 1939 New York World's Fair and the many children that followed.