Lyle Martens

A light has dimmed that will be felt by many people. Lyle passed to heaven on December 26, 2015, after his long-term battle with cancer, fighting courageously right to the end. He was born in Wausau, WI on June 22, 1935, to Norman and Eloise (Kreger) Martens. On December 22, 1956, he married his college sweetheart Darlene Pyatt at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Wausau, WI.
Lyle's entire career was dedicated to education. In his 40+ year career, he served Wisconsin's children as a Teacher, Principal, Superintendent of Schools, Asst. State Superintendent, and Deputy State Supt. of Public Instruction. His work continued as a Consultant and/or Project Coordinator for both the Center for Education and Workforce Competitiveness and the School-to-Work Transition Programs. During his career, he delivered many keynote addresses and presentations in Wisconsin and across the country, and was also named to the "Who's Who in America" national listing. This career resulted in his calling many Wisconsin cities home including Mercer, Seymour, Waunakee, Denmark, and Green Bay, although he always called Seymour 'home'. Early in his career, he was proud to go to Germany to tour the German Dual Education System to bring some of those ideas to the Wisconsin educational system.
He graduated from Wausau H.S. in 1953 and UW-Stout in 1957. Honored with the 1997 Distinguished Alumni Award for UW-Stout, Lyle earned both his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Stout and he proudly wore Stout T-shirts and hats every chance he could. Lyle continued to share his love of education by serving on the UW-Stout Foundation and assisting with the UW-Stout Endowment Fund. He and Darlene also created an endowment to provide an annual scholarship to one lucky UW-Stout student entering the field of Education. He was also honored by the Seymour Community with a perpetual Scholarship in his name at Seymour High School.
Lyle had many special interests. He loved his dogs and spent many years showing his Bedlington Terriers in national dog shows, taking many Best in Breed honors. But his Labrador, Teal, was his hunting partner and best friend. He also was proud to have attained his private pilot's license.
An avid woodworker, Lyle was an integral part of the Northeastern Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild holding numerous leadership positions. He was indispensable in the planning and organization of the Guild's Annual Woodworking Spring Show. Regular Spring Show attendees always enjoyed seeing his custom-made fishing nets. Recently, Lyle combined his love of woodworking and education by spearheading an effort for Guild members to help the Green Bay East High School Shop set up and perform maintenance checks on their power tools.
Lyle had a retirement to envy. His love of woodworking was unequaled only to his passion for fishing and hunting. He enjoyed numerous fishing trips to the Flambeau Flowage near Mercer, WI, as well as fly-in fishing trips to Canada with his sons Bill, Bob, and other close friends. Every fishing bucket list item was met except for catching that elusive 40+ inch musky on a fly. When it came to hunting, his most favorite times were hunting trips to Saskatchewan, Canada with his friend Dennis Bryan and their dogs Teal and Charlie.
His community and civic involvement was endless, serving as either Member or Director on numerous civic committees. But, he was most proud to be the founder of the Fallen Timbers Environmental Center in Seymour (1995), and his work to spearhead building Seymour's Good Shepherd Nursing Home/Clinic and Day Care.
Lyle was preceded in death by his son William "Bill" Martens, his parents and parents-in-law (Clarence and Gertrude Pyatt). He will be dearly missed by his wife Darlene and son Robert (Paula). Others who will miss Lyle are his daughter-in-law Diane Martens, sisters-in-law Kay (Jim) Petersen, and Beverly (Elmer) Baum, and nieces and nephews Debbie (Joe) Crivello, Jean Worlund, Jon (Cathy) Baum, Dale (Angie) Baum, Mitch (Amelia) Petersen, and Mike (Ruth) Petersen. Lyle will also be missed by 3 step-granddaughters (Michelle Mahn, Amy (Steve) Drew, Katie (Travis) Tryba) and 3 step-great granddaughters (Teala, Claire and Madelyn).
Special thanks to the oncologists, physicians, and nursing staff at St. Vincent's Hospital, the staff at The Nurse Next Door and Unity Hospice, and special thanks to Dr. Michael Volk. A huge thank you to all the many neighbors for their help and prayers during this difficult time, you know who you are.
Visitation will be held at Muehl-Boetcher Funeral Home at 358 South Main Street, Seymour on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The celebration of Lyle's life will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church at 349 N. Main Street, Seymour on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 at 11:00 am with Pastor Roland Lindeman officiating, and visitation beginning at 9:30 am. Burial will be in the Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Seymour, WI. Online condolences may be expressed at www.muehlboettcher.com .
In lieu of flowers, please honor Lyle's devotion to helping the teachers of tomorrow. Memorial donations should be sent in his name to either the "Darlene and Lyle Martens Endowed Scholarship", % Cindy Hangartner, Stout University Foundation, 320 S. Broadway St., Menomonie, WI 54751 ( scholarships@uwstout.edu ), or the "Lyle C. Martens Scholarship Fund" at Seymour High School, 10 Circle Drive, Seymour, WI 54165.
Dad: May the muskies and walleye be plentiful in heaven's lakes. May the holes in your fishing net be no larger than the fish in it, and may God's landing net find you just the right size.