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Donald Terance Martin
Dec 21, 2024
NORTH CANAAN — Dr.f Donald Terance “Doc” Martin, 86, of North Canaan, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at his home in North Canaan, which was his last wish. Dr. Martin was a dentist in Canaan, retiring in 2014. He served the community and their needs whether they could pay or not, and at all hours of the day and night. They do not make men like Don “Doc” Martin anymore.
Born on Aug. 27, 1938 in Walla Walla, Washington, he was the youngest of George T. and Anna Mae (McGrath) Martin’s eight children. Don proudly served in the US Navy with the Seabees during the Vietnam War. He adopted the Seabee’s “Can Do” attitude that served him for the rest of his life. Don married Lynne Horner in 1964.
Don was a 50-year friend of Bill W. He sponsored numerous others through his devotion to Alcoholics Anonymous. When people asked how he managed to stay sober for five decades, he said, “Don’t drink. Go to meetings. And don’t die.” And, “If you’re going to get old, you should do it in the program.”
Don fiercely loved his family, and he embraced his community. Wherever he went, people shouted, “Hi, Doc!” He enthusiastically supported local causes. In the early 1980s, he founded Friends of Football, a booster club for the Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s football team. He was a regular at Housy athletic events during his children’s years as students there, and continued to support the teams even after his youngest child graduated.
In addition to his loving wife of 60 years, Don is survived by a son, Rick Martin of Canaan, and two daughters, Kelley Marshall and her husband, Bill, of Hyde Park, New York, and Laura McCarthy and her husband, Neil, of Berlin, Connecticut. He is also survived by four grandchildren; William Marshall, V, Meagan Marshall and her fiancé, Cameron Jones, Maxim Martin and Meave McCarthy; a special friend, Jeff King, cousins Ann Kaufman, Jay Martin, Kathy Horner, Dan Horner, John Horner, Katherine Edlund, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at the North Canaan Congregational Church, 172 Lower Rd, East Canaan, with Pastor Mark Brady officiating. The repass follows from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the VFW Post #6851, 104 S. Canaan Rd., Canaan, CT. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Doc Martin should be made to the Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry, P.O. Box 306, North Canaan, CT 06018 or VFW Post #6851, P.O. Box 913, Canaan, CT 06018. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main Street, Canaan, CT.
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The Paul Winter Consort will perform at St. James Cathedral in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Saturday, Dec. 21.
Photo by Matthew Muise
Seven-time Grammy winning saxophonist Paul Winter, with the Paul Winter Consort, will return to celebrate the Winter Solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21, with sold out shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
A uniquely intimate solstice celebration, in contrast to the large-scale productions done for many years in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York, it promises to deliver everything audiences have come to love and expect.
“While we will not have all the dancers and theatrical effects that were possible in the world’s largest Cathedral, we will have all the essence of our solstice music, and we will feature, as always, the beloved voice of Theresa Thomason, who has been the ‘star’ of our solstice celebrations for over 25 years,” Winter said.
The concert will feature vocalist Theresa Thomason, Eugene Friesen on cello, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann, Brazilian drummer Rogério Boccat and Paul Winter on soprano sax.
“I was captivated by Saint James Place," Winter said. "The acoustics are heavenly, and the architecture is stunning. With seating for [250], it is possibly the most exquisite small concert hall I’ve ever seen."
Winter’s work chronicles his wide-ranging experiences in the musical traditions and natural environments of the Earth. The saxophonist, composer and bandleader founded Living Music as the recording context for his ensemble, the Paul Winter Consort, and his community of colleagues, which includes some of the world’s finest jazz, world and classical musicians, along with notable voices from the great symphony of wildlife.
He is also highly regarded for mentoring young musicians over the years, including the late Collin Walcott, a resident of Norfolk, Connecticut who was a member of the group Oregon and a member of the Paul Winter Consort in the late 1970s.
With compositions and improvisations that connect with the natural world, Winter’s music rewards exploration and opens ears to new ways of hearing. Winter has also supported Wellspring Commons, a non-profit, focusing on environmental issues, bioregionalism, and building local community.
The Paul Winter Consort, will bring their legendary Winter Solstice Celebration across New England this December, with performances in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
The Winter Solstice Celebration is a contemporary take on ancient solstice rituals, when people felt a calling to come together on the longest night of the year, to welcome the return of the Sun and birth of the new year.
“Central to all the traditions of solstice is the renewal of spirit symbolized by the rebirth of the sun,” Winter said. “Winter solstice is a time for healing and hope; it is a time to celebrate community and relatedness; and a time to honor the diversity and the unity of the great cornucopia of life on Earth. Remembering the solstice, we resonate once again with the rhythm of the cosmos and allow our hearts to embrace the optimism of our ancient knowledge that the light will overcome the darkness.”
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Martin Tandler
Little with his dog, Ruby.
"What I really feel lucky about is having had the chance to meet and photograph so many people who had a real impact on our lives,” said Christopher Little whose new memoir, “Shooting the Breeze: Memories of a Photojournalist” was just released. The book is as eclectic and colorful as the man himself and offers an intimate look into Little’s globe-trotting career spent behind the lens, capturing some of the most iconic figures, events, and human stories of the past half-century.
In 2021, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas acquired Little’s photographic archive.
“I had two young women who spent three months in my basement cataloging this stuff,” said Little. “So, while they were working, I was scanning as much as I could for this book.” After the three months, Little described that a “big blue truck” came to take away his 371,574 images which are now a permanent addition to the Briscoe Center’s internationally significant photojournalism collection. “It’s very bittersweet,” shared Little. “It was literally a life’s work driving away, but I’m so glad to have it there. And I’m in good company.”
Little has always kept good company; his career is a testament to a charmed life and relentless curiosity. Born and raised in Manhattan, Little’s father was a journalist with The New York Herald Tribune writing a five-day-a-week column covering the theater. His mother was a playwright, and the couple often had famous people to their apartment.
Little’s father was beloved and dropping his name not only helped open doors early on but put his subjects at ease. “He taught me a lot about journalism and the basic idea that I should look for another angle.”
This “other angle” is what makes Little’s photographs so evocative—he’s able to capture an entire story in a static image. “There’s a picture by Nat Fein, a really famous picture,” said Little about one of his early influences. “It was the first sports photograph to ever win the Pulitzer Prize. It’s a picture of Babe Ruth on his last day at Yankee Stadium and it’s shot from behind. It’s always stayed with me.”
Little studied psychology at Yale, another element that seems to have guided him to a deeper understand of his subjects. It was while he was still a student at Yale that Little began working for Newsweek. “I was at Yale from ’67 to ’71 and the campus was one news story after another with the student movement, the Bobby Seale (co-founder of the Black Panter Party) trial, and all that. So, I’d photograph stuff and then I’d get on my motorcycle and drive to New York. I had a loose relationship with Newsweek and I would give them my film, they’d process it, and if they liked something, they’d buy it. And then they started giving me assignments.” After college, he worked for Time Magazine and by 25, he was working with People magazine, beginning a 21-year stint during which he shot more than 350 assignments.
“The early days were incredible,” Little recalled. “I couldn’t have been a freelance journalist now. It almost doesn’t exist.” From covering the Watergate hearings for Time magazine to serving as official photographer for the Aga Khan and working with William F. Buckley Jr. on bestselling sailing memoirs, Little’s assignments brought him into the orbit of world leaders, celebrities, and everyday heroes. His work has been published in Life, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, and Architectural Digest, to name a few. Little’s work also went beyond famous faces. Some of his favorite assignments were stories about “ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” such as the first million-dollar lottery winner whose life fell apart under the weight of sudden wealth. “It was heartbreaking to witness,” he said.
The self-designed book, laid out in Adobe InDesign, gave Little the creative freedom he craved. “Nobody told me what to do,” he said. The cover, a playful collage, mirrors the book’s non-linear structure and personal touch.
Beyond photography, Little has led a vibrant life. A father and grandfather, he recently retired from serving as an EMT in Norfolk, Connecticut, after tearing his rotator cuff. “It seemed like a good time to retire,” he said. He spends his time now with his wife Betsy and takes digital photographs in the woods with his dog, Ruby.
Reflecting on his multifaceted career, Little shared, “I have no regrets and no bitterness. It’s a great luxury to look at it all from afar.”
With “Shooting the Breeze,” Little has ensured future generations can explore the remarkable life and work of a photojournalist who truly captured the world.
To purchase a copy of “Shooting the Breeze” visit: www.christopherlittle.com
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