It is with great regret that we announce that Alderman Joe Martin passed away Monday night following a recurrence of cancer.
Alderman Martin proudly served as the City of Sterling’s 4th Ward Alderman since 1995. He concurrently served as vice-mayor since 2007. He was a pound-the-pavement elected official that knew his ward well. He believed in doing things the right way and giving responsive service to his constituents. He was formal in his duties, straightforward, and positive about the City and its employees when discussing City related business. He took his role as an alderman very seriously.
He loved being a part of Sterling through and through and was very proud to serve as alderman through the good times and bad. He regularly attended City sponsored events from listening to the Municipal Band concert series to helping sling hot cider and cocoa at Sights and Sounds while cheerily greeting residents.
When he wasn’t representing the City at community events, he was very active with the Sterling Optimist Club, where he could be found raising funds or helping grill and serve at community events. As a long-time member of the Optimist Club, he twice served as president.
Personally, Joe was a 1978 graduate of Bradley University. He took his business degree into the sales world for most of his career. A few short years later, in 1982, he married Mary Arney, and we were forever blessed with Christmas cards from Mary and Joseph. He also happened to be the biggest Cardinals fan this side of St. Louis.
Joe was a friend to many over the years and built long-standing relationships with a number of us here at the City. He and his jokes will be missed greatly here at City Hall.
The tentative plan is for the visitation to be held at the Sterling McDonald Funeral Home from 4-7 Thursday afternoon. The funeral will be at 10am Friday at St. Mary’s in Sterling, with burial to follow at Oak Knoll Cemetery. City Hall will close for the funeral Friday morning so that employees can honor Alderman Martin’s 30 years of giving back to the City.
