J. Martin Thomas

Thomas J. ‶Tom″ Martin, age 84, longtime resident of Brown Street, passed away at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse on Sunday, December 16, 2018.

The family will receive friends from 3:00 to 5:00pm on Thursday, December 20, 2018 at Covert Funeral Home in Ovid. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00am on Friday, December 21, 2018 at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Prayers of committal will be at Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Kindly consider a donation to the Ovid-Willard Lions Club, PO Box C, Ovid, NY 14521 in Tom❜s memory.

Tom was born in Seneca Falls on August 9, 1934, a son of the late James and Monica (McCarrigher) Martin. He graduated from Ovid Central School, and served in the US Army from 1957 to 1959, and in 1960 he was married to Virginia Bovee. Tom worked at the George H. Lynd Hardware Store, and in 1971 he and Ginny purchased the store, operating it together until 1995. He was a faithful parishoner of Holy Cross Catholic Church. He had been a member of the Ovid Fire Department, was a long time member of the Seneca County election board, and for more than 50 years was a faithful and loyal member of the Ovid-Willard Lions Club. He and Ginny were avid golfers and bingo players, and made countless trips to support Syracuse University basketball and football, in addition to their loyalty to South Seneca Athletics. Tom❜s every day presence was genuinely an integral part of Ovid and the South Seneca communities.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Virginia; his son, David (Carol) Martin of Marcellus, NY; grandchildren, Lindsay (Robert) McLaughlin of Ft.Worth, TX and Brandon Thomas of NYC, and great grandchildren, Thomas and Robin McLaughlin; a sister, Fran Poulsen of Waterloo; and his nieces and nephews. Tom was preceded in death by his sister, Helen Poorman, and brother, Paul Martin.