Roy Anthony Martin Sr.         

Roy Anthony Martin was born on September 8, 1935 and fell asleep on September 16, 2008. These 30,354 days were not wasted.

Most of what follows is borrowed from a website belonging to TAPESTRY Christian Storytelling Alliance, a relatively new ministry that is blessed with talent and dedication, but a little short of funds at present. A small budget has not kept it from doing big things, however. The Christian drama troupe stands desperately in need of a set of hands-free microphones that will set it back about $3,000. Evangelically minded investors (“donors”) should reap substantial dividends in the hereafter. 99% percent of TAPESTRY’s endeavor can be described as sweat equity. It is a lot of work!

So far, few of its growing roster of volunteers have grown weary in well-doing. Many plays have been presented in the past year to appreciative audiences, and many more are under construction. TAPESTRY strives to present unadulterated Bible truth in an easy-to-digest manner, and reaches out to Christians and non-Christians who may be presently suffering from spiritual malnutrition.

The ensemble is blessed with talented participants. The late Roy Anthony Martin Sr. played a significant part in TAPESTRY’s March 24, 2018 presentation of Faces Around the Cross in Atlanta, Georgia. Onlookers little imagined that this would turn out to be one of Anthony’s last performances on this world. No human is capable of determining whether or not a soul’s ultimate destination will be heaven, but everyone acquainted with Anthony Martin was incapable of discovering the slightest chink in his spiritual armor. His career as a metallurgical technician was passed in his boyhood home, Cleveland, but from 1968 to 2000 he was a denizen of Knickerbocker country, working for IBM (“THINK!”) in East Fishkill, New York. Paychecks subsidized his true vocation- music. His tenor voice was indisputably world-class. Let us now praise famous men…

“Great job, Anthony!”

The preceding photo depicts an audience member expressing her appreciation for tenor Anthony Martin’s rendition of The Midnight Cry, the capstone of a March 24, 2018 performance of Faces Around the Cross presented by TAPESTRY Christian Storytelling Alliance. Roy Anthony Martin rested from his labor on September 16, 2018. A celebration of his lengthy and productive life was held October 21, 2018 at Berean Church in Atlanta.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama on September 8, 1935, he was a resident of Cleveland, Ohio for over three decades. At age 14 he started working for the Ohio Foundry where his father Mylas was a foreman. The knowledge of metals he acquired at this foundry led to a long career as a technician, first for Lamson & Sessions in Ohio, and later for IBM East Fishkill, NY, just up the Hudson River from New York City. In 2000 he retired from IBM and moved to Atlanta. Metallurgy was his vocation, but music was his passion.

From 1951 to 1955 Anthony attended Oakwood Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. There he sang with the college choir and two quartets. He earned the nickname “Hi-C” because of his smooth, high tenor voice. After graduating Oakwood he returned to Cleveland and formed a vocal quartet, The Clairtones. An audition for the Cleveland Orchestra led to his 12-year association with the organization and its most renown conductors, George Szell and Robert Shaw. Later, in the Hudson River Valley, he became choral director for the IBM Glee Club. He also formed The Tabernacle Singers of Beacon, New York. He continued to both direct and perform music for the remainder of his life, all for the glory of God.

Trivia; Anthony Martin was in Utah when the 500 mph land speed record was shattered, testing the bolts of Craig Breedlove’s “Spirit of America- Sonic 1”

The following family acknowledgment is taken from the program for Anthony’s memorial service:

On September 16, 2018, Roy Anthony Martin Sr. took his last breath and departed this life. He is remembered by family and friends alike as a man who loved God, loved his family, and loved music.
He is also remembered as a hard, dedicated worker who took no pleasure in the thought of retirement. He was a man who gave good counsel. And because he was seldom ruffled, and always possessed a demeanor displaying grace, class, and charm, he aptly acquired the moniker “Old Smoothie”.

Smooth certainly described his first tenor voice and his seemingly effortless manner of singing. Roy Anthony Martin Sr. loved music. Every day of his life was filled with music. Singing was his talent. Singing was his Spiritual Gift which he freely gave to the world. His gift was without question. His talent was a blessing to many. His voice is now quiet.

The playwright and author William Saroyan suggests, “In the time of your life, live- so that in good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.”

The Saroyan ( a preacher’s kid) quote in this acknowledgment comes from the preface of his 1939 play “The Time of Your Life”, which was made into a movie by MGM in 1948.

Certainly Roy Anthony Martin Sr., by way of music, brought beauty and shined God’s light into an otherwise dark world. His music, and his love of music, was a way for him to share God’s goodness everywhere he went.

And while his voice is now silent, and while his breath no longer vibrates a lovely pitch and tremor among the living, be assured one day he will awake when the Saints of God are called home.
At that time, at the angels trumpet sound, his voice will arise again to the newness of life with a breath that is eternal and sing the songs of the redeemed!

Roy Anthony Martin Sr. lived with that hope and the hope that all his family, friends, and loved ones will join him in the chorus of the faithful on that fateful day. That was in fact his daily prayer.

We, his family, thank you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. And we thank you for joining us in the Celebration of the Life of Roy Anthony Martin Sr.

Roy Anthony Martin Senior’s daily prayer that all of his family, friends, and loved ones arise with him at the last trump included every reader of this post. He was a commandment keeper, and God’s commandment that we love each other does not admit exceptions. Anthony truly loved God, and loved the human race, working tirelessly to share the good news about Jesus Christ through song. TAPESTRY Christian Storytelling Alliance is saddened by his death, but brightened by his future prospects.