A Double Tragedy for a Catholic Family in Phoenix

June 4, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog

I am stunned by the terrible news I just read about the death, due to complications in childbirth, of Kerry Martin, wife of the Treasurer of the State of Arizona, Dean Martin. The child she was delivering, a boy, also died.

I had lunch with Dean and Kerry at an intimate Catholic gathering in Phoenix last year at which I gave a talk about the work of the Envoy Institute. What a delightful and happy couple they were! The three of us chatted for 15 minutes or so about his career, and in particular how his strong Catholic Faith and equally strong Pro-Life convictions affected, for better or worse, his work in the state government. I have a vivid memory of also talking one-on-one with Kerry for a little while about homeschooling. She was beaming and sweet and clearly very much in love with her husband, proud of his burgeoning career, and happy to be a busy young mom of a young family. And now she’s gone.

Receive, Lord, your servant Kerry into the place of salvation, which she hopes to obtain through your mercy. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Kerry Martin liked to play a game with the child she was carrying.

She set a remote control on top of her stomach, and waited for the baby to kick it off. He always did.

“They did this every night,” said her husband, state Treasurer Dean Martin, at the funeral Wednesday for his wife and infant son. “And it was so much fun to watch.”

Martin talked about his wife and their only son, Austin Michael Martin, before a large and somber crowd at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Phoenix. Hundreds of mourners packed the pews and lined the back walls as Father John Greb celebrated a funeral Mass for the Martins.

Kerry Martin died at 34 on May 25, hours after delivering Austin, as a consequence of the rupture of a benign tumor on her liver. Austin died two days later as a result of complications from the birth. . . (continue reading)

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