John Martinez

John Martinez, 81, of Great Falls passed away at Peace Hospice on March 11, 2019. A viewing will be held at Schnider Funeral Home on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. with a memorial service to follow at 2:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel. John was born June 27, 1937 in Lewistown, MT. He graduated from Geraldine High School in 1956, joined the Air Force in 1957, and was stationed at Altus Air Force Base, OK until 1961. He then lived and worked in Great Falls for a few years before moving to southern California and getting a job as a truck driver. He met Lynda Tallant in 1968, and they were married in 1969. In March 1970 they had twin sons, Anthony and Scott, and returned to Great Falls in 1972. John and Lynda divorced in 1984, and he married Kathy Rogers in 1987. John worked at the Montana Air National Guard until 1974, when he started driving truck for Consolidated Freightways. He retired from Consolidated Freightways in 1994, bought an old school bus, and used it to pick up and transport firefighters around the state during fire season. In 1998, John and Kathy moved to Billings, where he worked for the Billings School District as a bus aid during the school year, and during the summer worked as a contractor, mixing and loading flame retardant to be dropped on forest fires. John and Kathy divorced in 2009, and John moved back to Great Falls in 2012. In Great Falls he worked for the Forest Service to support Firefighters during the summer, drove the Great Falls to Fort Harrison VA shuttle, volunteered for Peace Hospice, and was a rideshare driver for Uber. His hobbies were fishing, gardening, and Grizzly Football. He is survived by his brothers, Joseph and Jim; his sister, Joanne; sons, Anthony and Scott; grandchildren Michelle, Darron, Josephine, and Elizabeth Martinez. He was preceded in death by his parents, Francisco and Josephine Martinez and his brothers Frank and Bob Martinez. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: https://www.dvfarm.org/DVF-Give-Page-PayPal. Condolences can be left for the family at www.SchniderFuneralHome.com.