James Martin

Sergeant Major James “Paul” Martin (Ret. Army), 71, entered heaven’s rest peacefully on

December 3, 2018, with many loved ones by his side. He is survived by a large loving family

which includes his wife, Retha, his mother, Ellie, his brother, Keith, sister, Joanna, 2 sons,

Christian and Stephen, 3 daughters, Sandra, Patty and Niki, together with their spouses, 11

grandchildren, Alex, Kyle, Trey, Zach, Katelyn, Harrison, Cooper, Jack, Kate, Carter and

Kendyll, and 3 great-grandchildren, Kamryn, Karsyn, and Logan, along with many nieces and

nephews and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, James H.

Martin, and his nephew Corey Dennis. Paul was born May 20, 1947 to James H. and Ellie

Martin, then graduated from NLRHS in 1966 before attending Hendrix College. After college, he

proudly served our country with the U.S. Army on active duty and the reserves over a span of

32 years, all the while working for Sears in retail and management for over 40 years. Paul was

smart, funny, loving, and always ready to gather the family for a good time. He loved to cook

great food, cheer on the Razorbacks (always believing they would win), serve his family, and

watch the sunrise at the beach. He will be greatly missed! Thankfully, we do not grieve as those

without hope. Even though Paul is absent in the body, he is present with the Lord because he

trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior (1 Thes. 4:13-14). The family will receive visitors on

Thursday, December 6th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Smith-North Little Rock Funeral Home. Our family and friends will gather to worship the Lord in celebration of Paul’s life on Friday, December 7th at 11:30 am at Smith- North Little Rock Funeral Home, followed by placement of his ashes at the Arkansas State

Veteran’s Cemetery in North Little Rock. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the UAMS Myeloma Center.