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Lawrence “Shorty” Martin, 92, of Creston died Friday, July 9, 2021, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. A Celebration of Life service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, July 15, 2021, at the Graceland Cemetery Chapel in Creston. Pastor Mary O’Riley will officiate. Open visitation with family receiving friends will be one hour prior to the service also at Graceland Cemetery Chapel in Creston.
Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society in Lawrence’s name. Online condolences may be left on the tribute wall at www.powersfh.com.
Lawrence “Shorty” Fredrick Martin, son of Harry Lawrence Fredrick Martin and Elsie Mae (Davis) Martin, was born Oct. 19, 1928, on a farm northeast of Creston. He grew up in rural Creston and attended school there graduating from Creston High School with the class of 1946. Before and after graduation, Shorty worked for his brother at his garage as a mechanic on Jeeps.
On Sept. 19, 1948, Shorty was united in marriage to Hazel Irene Reasland at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua. In 1954, they moved to San Diego, California, where he worked at Consolidated Aircraft as a mechanic.
Two years later they returned to Iowa and he began working at Kerr-Cochran Chevrolet as a mechanic. In 1956, Shorty and Hazel bought a small farm south of Creston. He kept his position as a mechanic with Kerr-Cochran for 32 years while continually adding land and livestock to his farm. Shorty retired as a mechanic in 1982. He kept on farming and his youngest son Dan helped out, adding a hog confinement and additional acres. Hazel passed away in 2016.
He was a former member of the Creston Eagles.
Surviving Shorty are his son, Richard Martin of Creston; granddaughter, Niki (Scott) Abildtrup of Creston; four great-grandchildren: Kaci, Ryli, Halli and Brant; one sister-in-law, Marjorie Reasland, of Creston; brother-in-law, Glen Reasland of Mountain Home, Arkansas; along with many nieces and nephews and friends.
Shorty was preceded in death by his parents, wife Hazel, his son Daniel on April 14, 2021, grandsons Michael and Matthew Martin, brothers Cleo (Isabelle) Martin, Irvin (Mary) Martin and Gene (Ruth) Martin, sister Laura (John) VanderLinden, sister-in-law Bonnie Hodge on July 4, 2021, brothers-in-law Raymond Hodge, Bob (Mary) Ford and Russ Reasland.