Kenny Martin of Cody, Wyoming February 28, 1949 - August 3, 2025

[TomM]

https://www.ballardfh.com/obituary/kenny-martin
(may want to watch the video on lower part of obit page)

Kenny Martin of Cody, Wyoming
February 28, 1949 - August 3, 2025
LIVE STREAM FROM BALLARD FUNERAL HOME'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16noxScX4q/
 
In memory of Ken Martin, 1949 – 2025
Except for maybe William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody himself, there are few townspeople who loved Cody, Wyoming, more than Ken Martin. As a young man, he came West in the 70s, but in 1982, he returned to Cody, and well, he just never left...that is until August 3, 2025. 
After a six-year battle with a rare neurological disorder, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Ken died on August 3 at his Cody home in the company of family and friends. He was 76.
When the "word got out" about Ken's passing, tributes began piling up on social media from a host of family and friends with remembrances of Ken as: teacher, coach, an all-around "character and a good guy," many who bought their athletic shoes from Ken's store in downtown Cody, Making Tracks, "a man full of life and always smiling," "a man with a heart the size of Texas," "so patient with those young wrestlers," and those accolades are still coming.
These are the folks who mourn Ken's passing. Together with his family, there's an extraordinary assortment of wrestlers (young and old), river floaters, wrestling pals, students and their parents, customers, tourists, vendors, wild mustang buffs, Wild Bunch Gunfighters, Cody entrepreneurs, Wisconsin pals, and Cody pals—especially, his home health team.
And those who knew Ken Martin also recognized that he knew a lot about a lot of things: Cody, the man and the town. River floats. Dogs, especially his German Shepherd Dakota. Homing pigeons. Athletic shoes. Wild mustangs. Daniel Boone. Gunfighters. Yellowstone National Park. And wasn't it Ken who founded the so-called Bigfoot Research Center? (Was it tongue-in-cheek or earnest belief? We may never know...)
For the most part, Ken was raised in Marinette County, Wisconsin, an area in the northeast part of the state. When a neighbor taught the youngster Ken all about homing-pigeons, he had to have his own. Indeed, Ken would raise pigeons for some 60 years, relinquishing them only when his health prevented his caring for them.
Apparently, young Ken also fancied himself a mountain man: Think that one from Tennessee, the coonskin-capped Davy Crockett, played on TV by Fess Parker. The limited television series ran from 1954 – 1955, and Ken undoubtedly watched every episode. What's more, he even wore his own coonskin cap everywhere he went...no doubt looking for mountains to explore—and how he loved the mountains.
In the late 1960s, Ken entered the workforce with a three-year tenure in Marinette and Madison, Wisconsin, as the No.1 Kinney's Shoes salesman in the nation! Perhaps Ken's "Winning Wing-tip Ways" meant that his 1982 foray into business for himself—Making Tracks Athletic Shoe Store located for 20 years in downtown Cody, Wyoming—may not have been such a stretch after all.
Entrepreneur Ken would later launch a new enterprise: Red Canyon Tours in the early-to-mid 2000s. He created his own unique brand of Cody-area visitor experiences with river raft trips, wild mustang excursions, and tours of Yellowstone National Park. His guests were captivated, to say the least, thanks in part to their fun, casual, friendly, and knowledgeable host, the one who had literally named each of the wild mustangs in the herd! That Ken was a total "people person" was obvious to everyone he met. 
But anyone who knew Ken, even a little bit, knew he was passionate about wrestling. At Coleman High School in Coleman, Wisconsin, the wrestling team won two state championships during Ken's stretch there, and he compiled a personal win/loss record of 75 – 10 under legendary coach Jim Douglas. Next, he competed for Northern University in Marquette, Michigan, for a year, but he'd enjoy real collegiate success starting in 1970 when he signed on with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (UWP) for four years under rookie coach, Jim Koch.
Parkside had moved to its new campus in 1969, a perfect backdrop for Ken's award-winning wrestling career at UWP. In his four years with UWP's Rangers, he enjoyed a host of achievements including a total win/loss/tie record of 87-8-2. In 1973, he received the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Championship, a first for any sport at UWP at that time. Additionally, in all four years of college wrestling, Ken's teammates voted him Most Valuable Wrestler, and in 1974, he was named UWP Athlete of the Year. And Coach Koch was always quick to point out that, for him, Ken was the "Most Inspirational Wrestler."                       
Not content to leave wrestling behind, Ken served for three years as UWP's assistant coach upon his graduation. He became head coach at Cody High School in 1977 and was named head coach in 1981 at Bemidji State University in Minnesota while he worked towards a master's degree. Lastly, Ken was instrumental in launching the popular USA Wrestling program in Cody, where he devoted himself for more than 25 years of service to young competitors.
As he reminisced about wrestling in an interview a couple years ago, he shared that there were life lessons to be learned on the wrestling mat, far beyond training and competition. In fact, what he said about wrestling may well sum up life itself. As Ken put it, "It wasn't always fun, but it was always great."
Ken was truly an "other-directed" man who was big on volunteering, witness his work with USA Wrestling, nursing home visits, Meals on Wheels, Boys & Girls Club. He regularly visited local historian Bob Edgar until Bob's death—which may have been how Ken learned so much about Cody! "Ken loved people," his twin sister, Dene ("Ardene"), shared, "and invested himself in their lives. Young, old, handicapped, special needs, he loved them all.
Ken and Dene were born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 28, 1949, to Stan and Marion Martin. The "twins" had joined older brother, Jack, and were followed thereafter by younger brother Bob. When their mom eventually remarried following their father's death (when the twins were 10), their stepdad, Bill Marquardt, and stepbrother, Dennis Marquardt, entered the picture, and later their half-brother, Rick, was born.
Ken is survived by his twin sister, Dene Tachick (Jerry), his brothers Jack (Diane) and Bob (Cindy), all of Cody; his half-brother, Rick Marquardt of Long Island City, New York, and his stepbrother, Dennis Marquardt of Marinette, Wisconsin.
Also surviving him are his beloved nieces and nephews: Gina Leonhardt (Tim), Kacie Schwarz, Kendy Bogardus (Ben), all of Cody; Jeb Tachick (Julie), Gillette, Wyoming; Nicole Demaranville (Bryan), Christy Schmeiser, Ashley Scott (Matt), Jordan Martin (Clarissa), and Ethan Martin (Chantelle), all of Cody; Scott Martin, and Danielle "Micki" Volbrecht (Brad), all of Billings; Pam Marquardt, and Dennis Marquardt Jr. of Minnesota, a total of 29 grand nieces and nephews along with two great, great nephews, thousands of friends, and a lot of dogs.
Ken was preceded in death by his dad, Stan Martin; his mom, Marion Martin Marquardt; nephew Brock Martin; and his stepdad, Bill Marquardt.
About Ken, Dene wrote, "Essentially, we can say that Ken remained undefeated in his life...until he was diagnosed with PSP in 2019. This was the only battle that would, and could, take Ken down. He gave it a good fight, and he truly never gave up or lost hope until the very last.
"But in the end, Ken was still victorious because he was right with the Lord when he passed on."
A memorial service is planned for Thurs., Aug. 21, 11 a.m. at Cody Alliance Church, 147 Cooper Lane in Cody. The service is being simulcast to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for Ken's family and friends there.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ken's name to the Coleman Wrestling Parents Club with "Ken Martin Memorial" in the subject line. Mail checks to Cory Kuchta, N1 757 Behnke School Road, Coleman, WI  54112. 
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