Kelly Edward Martin

On June thirteenth, our family lost the Best Brother of all time and the Utah Jazz, once again, lost one of their all-time greatest fans, Kelly Edward Martin. Kelly lived 44 days without our Mom and we believe that she needs him on the other side. He and our mother shared a great love of sports. We all believe that they are on the other side throwing parties and watching sports together. Mom is once again bossing Kelly around: “Get the plates, get the cups, what about the silverware?!” He would gladly march off to get whatever she requested. They were, after all, a great team and we owe a debt of gratitude to our brother because were it not for him, our beautiful mother would not have been able to be in her home until the day she died—her only request—he made that possible and sacrificed himself for her. He and Mom were the most Christlike people that we will ever know. They are together forever.

Kelly was born on January 15, 1955 to Lucile Christensen Martin and Lionel (Marty) Martin. He is preceded in death by our dear mother, Lucile; his father Lionel and by our baby brother, Marty. He has 7 surviving sisters who all love and adore him: Madilee Puttuck (Gary), Kathie Kingston (Ted), Suzette Dale (Paul), Coral Mutscheller (Jim), Shelley Brinck (Jeff), Kimberley Folster (Nici) and Patrice Martin. He has 17 nieces/nephews, 38 great nieces/nephews and 5 great, great nieces. He was Uncle Grizz to his nieces and nephews. He loved unconditionally, in spite of the abuse that he endured as a child; a piece of Grizz will live on in each of us. Our family’s love will always keep Kelly’s sweet spirit alive. 

Kelly endured many hardships throughout his life and unfortunately; he succumbed to cancer on June thirteenth. He went so fast, they diagnosed him that morning and he died that evening. We think due to his Traumatic Brain Injury, that he suffered as a child, he may not have experienced pain in the same way that we all do. At least that is what we hope, that he did not suffer. He has the most gentle soul and he will forever be our HERO!!!! A sweet side note: we asked Kelly what his spirit animal was going to be and he said a grizzly bear. Yes sir, no one will ever mess with him again.

In addition to the Jazz, his favorite sports teams were the L.A. Rams, University of Utah football program, the Bees baseball team and Real Salt Lake soccer team. He loved, and I mean loved, watching his favorite sports teams. He read every edition of Sports Illustrated, cover to cover, and could tell you any statistic about any sports team. He also enjoyed watching , the soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful with our sweet mother.

With very heavy hearts we announce that there will be a viewing on Monday, June 24, 2024 at the Olympus Stake Center 2675 E. 4430 S. from 8:30 - 9:45 AM followed by his funeral services at 10 AM. Kelly served in the U.S. Army and will be given a military funeral service. Graveside Services will be held immediately following at Redwood Memorial Mortuary - 6500 S Redwood Road - at 11:30 AM. As a loving gesture we request that you wear something red, white or blue; to honor our brother’s service in the military. We invite all to come celebrate the incredible life of our amazing brother and Uncle Grizz. In lieu of flowers, our family asks that you donate to the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.