Ronald Loyd Martin, born on October 18, 1948, passed away late in the evening on June 14 th , 2015 after a courageous battle with gastric cancer. Ron grew up in Swan Lake, and remembered, at a mere four years of age, seeing his first big yellow pine while riding in the back of his parent’s 1948 Ford. He knew from that moment that he would spend his life working in the timber industry, first as a logger and later as an essential forestry planner, focusing on sustainable timber practices, fire protection, and fire preservation. Ron attended Bigfork High School where he was a sports enthusiast, and later attended Montana State University and the University of Montana. In 1969, Ron began his long career in the timber industry with the Duwamish Sea Board Lumber Company. From there, Ron’s love of the forest led him to a job with the Weyerhaeuser Company, where he learned every aspect of timber management, from how to run the equipment to falling the last of the true old growth in Washington. On December 4 th of 1970, Ron took his first cutting job at Nine Mile, west of Missoula. His success falling trees in extreme conditions led him to Kake, Alaska, where he fell timber with the likes of characters named, Everclear Mike, Bullshit Bobby Thompson, Earl the Squirrel, and Ken the One-Eyed Explorer. After Alaska, Ron went to work as a jippo logger for various Montana logging companies. In 1973, Ron fell in love with Bitterroot Lake and decided it would be the place he would call home. In 1983, Ron worked on Mt. Saint Helen’s during the second eruption and moved to Buckley, Washington in 1987 to fall big timber. In 1991, Ron returned to Bitterroot Lake and later founded Martin’s Woodlot Services. As a respected timber advocate, Ron was routinely called upon by the Forest Service to perform work and to provide opinions on forest planning, preservation, and best forest practices. Ron will be remembered as an eternal optimist, one of the best timber fallers in the industry, an avid fisherman, hunter, and gardener, a father, a brother, a son, and a friend. Ron is preceded by his mother, Peggy Martin, survived by his 98 year-old father, Robert Martin of Swan Lake, his brother, Robert Martin of Polson(and wife Mary), his son, Jason Martin of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, (wife Cassie, and their three boys, Will, Wes, and Wyatt), his daughter, Lacey Hatch of Seattle, Washington (husband, Quinton and their two children, Faye and Riggs), his son, Henry Martin of Portland, Oregon, and his step-daughter, Dawn O’Neil of Kalispell (husband Shawn and daughters, Kaytlan and Baylie), along with numerous nephews and nieces and an unprecedented number of close friends. In lieu of flowers, Ron’s wishes were that donations be made to Wings, Inc., (PO Box 7852, Kalispell, MT 59904) to support families of those fighting cancer. A memorial for Ron will be held at the Epworth United Methodist Church of Kalispell at Monday, June 22 nd at 10:00 a.m.