October 22, 2021, Larry Martin, 71, passed away at his home, on his own time, just the way he would have wanted to, not rushed. He had suffered for 12-years battling with cancer. His memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, November 6, 2021, at the Benton Funeral Home Chapel with burial and military honors at the Riverside Cemetery.  A reception will follow the graveside service at the Golden Age Center. Memorial donations in Larry's honor may be made to the Chouteau County Cancer Society. Please visit Larry's online memorial page to send a card or leave a message of condolence for his family at www.bentonfh.com.

Lawrence David Martin was born May 5, 1950, in Rapid City, South Dakota, to Clay and Alice (Dougdale) Martin. Larry was the only son out of four children born to Clay and Alice. The Black Hills were his playground until the age of 13. This caused his mother a lot of stress with the vast wide-open area and never knowing what he and his friends may be getting into.  At The age of 13 his family moved to Newcastle Wyoming, where his father had accepted a job with Peterbilt and worked as an independent truck driver. Larry graduated from Newcastle High in 1969 and enlisted in the United States Army, he wanted to join the army before they could draft him. Then he would be able to spend the summer with his best friend Lonnie riding motorcycles, driving their cars too fast and having fun one last time. In September of 1969, he went to Fort Hood TX for training before he was deployed to Vietnam. He was a forward observer; his job was to call in direct fire during battle. He was honorably discharged in 1971 and returned to Wyoming.

Larry started work in the oilfield as a roughneck for Halliburton in Gillett, Wy. Soon after he transferred to a sister company in Havre, MT called Welex. While living in Havre he was trained as a shooter, creating the explosions in the ground for the oil rigs to drill. He met his soul mate and love of his life Charlene Schaub. One day as Larry was leaving on a job and they had said their good-byes, he yelled out the window of his 1967 Chevy as he drove away "wanna get married?" Charlene didn't hear from him for a week! When he returned home, Larry asked her properly and they were married August 11, 1975. Charlene had three small children; and they became an instant family. He always claimed the children as his, and no one would say anything different.

Michael, David and Samatha could never have asked for a better dad or partner in crime. Whether it was fishing and hunting with his boys or getting his daughter out of trouble with her mom or whatever mischief she gotten into, he was always there for them. In the middle of the night if the kids were stuck in the mud or stuck in the ditch, they could always call dad and he would come get them with the "blue bonnet" truck. The kids always knew he was there for them and that was enough. Dad was always there, even when they were told it was a bad idea, he was always there to pick up the pieces and dust them off and put them back together.

In October of 1976 the family moved from Montana to Kansas for Larry's oilfield job. This wasn't a good move for the family. The land was too flat. Larry was able to transfer to Brighten, Colorado, where they lived until March of 1980. The final move with the oilfield was to Evanston, Wyoming, where he worked until he retired in 1986. Larry realized that he had spent a lot of time working and not enough time with his family because the children had grown up fast and were now teenagers. After a lot of talking, he was able to convince Charlene to sell their home and make the move back to Montana, settling in Fort Benton.

Larry worked for Naeseth Concrete, and then as a custodian for Missouri River Medical Center until he retired July 9, 2021. He enjoyed his job and the people he worked with. He liked to visit with the residents, he was even mistaken for a resident by the nursing staff. Thru the last 12 years Larry has managed to beat the odds against several tough cancers. He was recently diagnosed with a heart condition that was just too much for him to fight against.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clay & Alice Martin; sister, Mary Sue Layne; brother-in-Law, Mark Stoner; nephew, Daniel; nephew, Reno; and great grandson, Baby Morris.

Larry is survived by his wife, Charlene Martin; sons, Michael (Tammy) Martin of Evanston, WY and David Martin of Ft. Benton, MT; daughter, Samatha (Michael) Carper of FT. Benton, MT; mother-in-law, Margie Stoner; sisters, Sherry (Kenny) Dickenson of FT Collins, CO and Teresa Baumgarten of FT. Collins, CO; grandchildren, Brandee Morris of Billings, MT, Amanda (Cordale) Morris of Evanston, WY, Michael Moore of Ft. Benton, MT, Jessie Martin of Evanston, WY, and Sandon Morris of FT Benton, MT; great grandsons, Pryson & Aidon Morris of FT Benton, MT; several nieces and nephews; and brothers- and sisters-in-law.