William Culbertson Martin

Dr. William "Bill" Culbertson Martin, 89, passed away at his home on Sunday June 22, 2014. A World War II veteran, respected sociology professor, book collector and one of the last living members of science fiction's First Fandom, he not only led an extraordinary life but also touched and inspired many people across generations.
He was born July 6, 1924 in tiny Drake, Kentucky to Ira Allen and Ollie Mae (White) Martin. He was the eldest of eight siblings. In 1931, his family moved to Portland, Tenn. At Sumner County High School, classmates knew him as "Willie" and remembered him for his sharp brain and for always having his nose in a book. He discovered science fiction through Buck Rogers comic strips and was a Buck Rogers Solar Scout. He started buying pulp magazines, such as Amazing Stories and Astounding Science Fiction, at local newsstands.
Upon his high school graduation as class valedictorian in June 1943, he enthusiastically reported for military service in World War II. He was trained first as an engineer in the prestigious Army Specialized Training Program at Texas A&M College and the University of Illinois. Then in 1943, he was assigned to the Eighth Armored Division (Battery A, 405th Armored Field Artillery Battalion) at Camp Polk in Louisiana. He served as a Private First Class, drove a tank in Patton's Third Army in the European Theater, and received his honorable discharge in 1946. After returning to the United States, he was a member of the U.S. Army Organized Reserve Corps from 1946 to 1950 and the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1950 to 1953.
Upon returning from Europe, he attended Vanderbilt University on the GI Bill, majoring in sociology with a psychology minor. He went on to complete his bachelor of arts degree in 1950 with magna cum laude honors, master of arts degree in 1956, and doctorate in 1971, at Vanderbilt University, and he was an enthusiastic alumnus and supporter of his alma mater throughout his life. He also did graduate sociology studies at Indiana University from 1951 to 1957, where he met Irma Margareta Carpelan, of Finland, known to friends and family as "Margareta." They married October 30, 1955 in Helsinki, Finland. They have one daughter, Anya Martin, who to her father's delight grew up to be a writer and journalist.
His professional sociology career spanned four decades, during which he contributed to the field with significant research and journal articles, especially in the areas of theories of social structure and change, race relations, multinational organizations, social psychology and popular culture. He was a popular and much-loved professor by his students. He was an assistant professor of sociology at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., from 1958 to 1959; Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., from 1959 to 1965; and Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from 1965 to 1968, where he also served as acting chairman of the department of sociology from 1966 to 1967. In 1970, he joined the sociology department of Georgia State University (GSU) and received tenure as an associate professor. He retired from GSU in 1991 as Professor Emeritus.
Throughout his life he was an active member of the Democratic Party and a passionate advocate of civil and human rights. His many efforts as a community organizer included serving on the executive committee of the Cedar Rapids Human Rights Council from 1966 to 1968, and as its chair from 1967 to 1968. He also was a leader in the Linn Economic Action Program's Education Task Force and its United Community Services program in Cedar Rapids. In Atlanta, he volunteered for Common Cause of Georgia, and he and his wife and hosted many foreign professional visitors and students for the Atlanta Council for International Visitors. He was active in numerous sociological and other professional societies, including chairing the Clearinghouse Committee on Violence Toward Minorities of the Southern Sociological Society from 1981 to 1983.
Always eager to learn and experience diverse cultures, he had a particular love for Paris, but his adventuresome spirit inspired him to be one of the first Americans to visit both Russia (then the Soviet Union) in 1957, and the People's Republic of China, in 1985, when travel restrictions were lifted from both countries. He went on to visit Russia nine more times through 1991. In China, he met Wei Callahan and assisted her to come to the U.S. to study sociology at GSU and hosted her for her first year. He took his daughter Anya along on many of his journeys including England, Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Canada, Japan and Egypt. Many friends remember colorful anecdotes from his trips, and group tour companions quickly gravitated to him. His four collies--Rory, Tristan, Duncan, and grand-collie Max who passed away on June 24--and Siamese cat PuPu, named after the Finnish word for "bunny," also were a dear and important part of his life.
In his last four decades, he rediscovered his childhood passion for science fiction, fantasy and horror literature and joined First Fandom, an organization of Golden Age SF fans, as well as the Science Fiction Research Association. He became well-known and loved in the SF/F/H community and attended many conventions with his daughter Anya, including Necronomicon, the H.P. Lovecraft Centenary citywide celebration in Providence, R.I., in August 2013, where he was the only attendee old enough to have read H.P. Lovecraft's stories before the author died in 1937. In Atlanta, many fans considered him "Atlanta's own Forry Ackerman," due to his fantastic collection of books and pulp magazines. He was a guest at many Dragoncons, as well as at the Silver Scream Spookshow's presentation of the 1939 classic Buck Rogers serials during the Plaza Theatre's 70th anniversary celebration, where he received a standing ovation after sharing his memories. He also taught honors seminars in science fiction at GSU and penned professional papers on the history and development of SF as the "Literature of the 20th Century."
He is survived by his wife Irma Margareta Martin and daughter Anya Margareta Martin, as well as his brothers Richard and Howard Martin, and sister Louise Eden. He is predeceased by his brothers James, George and Robert, and his sister Marie. A Memorial/Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday July 6 (which would have been his 90th birthday) at 1 p.m. at A.S. Turner & Sons, 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30033, (404) 292-1551, www.asturner.com. His internment, with military honors, will be at 3 p.m. on Monday July 7 at Maple Hill Cemetery in Portland, Tenn. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made "in memory of Dr. William C. Martin" to either Southern Poverty Law Center or Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta (Library).


Funeral Home:
A.S. Turner
2773 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033