Kenneth "Kenny" Martin

Services for Kenneth Hurley Martin, 78, will be held Friday, August 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana. Burial will follow at Rose-Neath Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Thursday, August 3, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Officiating the service will be Brother Harrell Shelton. 

Kenneth ”Kenny” Hurley Martin was born on November 29, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee, to John and Thelma Martin in Ferriday, Louisiana where he spent his childhood and went home to be with Jesus on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at his home in Bossier City, Louisiana. 

Kenny loved to fish, garden, work the hardest sudoku puzzles, cook, watch football, and golf. He could grow just about anything, you name it, he could grow it. His pride and joy for many years was his garden full of stuff such as tomatoes, corn, onion, cucumbers, peas, and watermelon. He enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, serving on the USS Kitty Hawk in the South China Sea for the majority of his deployment. During his time in the Navy, he got to travel to places such as Japan and the Philippines. He made his livelihood working as a conductor for Illinois Central for about 20 years. He loved to fish and would go as often as he could, especially when he bought his boat which he would try to work on and fix up often. He used to know the Red River like the back of his hand and could tell you all the best spots and would if he liked you. When he was able, he would go down to the gulf to catch shrimp and crab. Hackberry, Louisiana was probably his favorite and most frequented spot. Most people knew that if they needed a hand working on their lawn mower, fixing something in the house, or replacing something, he would be there to try to help in any way he could. He was most definitely “neighborly” in that way. He will be missed immensely.

Kenny is preceded in death by his parents, John and Thelma Martin; Sisters, Faye, Dayle, and Patsy; brother Royce; and son, Tyler John Martin. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Susan Branch Martin; children, Gary Burnett and wife, Dawn; Curt Burnett and wife, Tiffany; Troy Martin and wife, Paula; Courtney Martin, and Whitney Martin; son-in-law, Jacob; and his eight grandchildren, Zachary, McKenzie, Jade, Noah, Caleb, Josh, Mitchell and Emily.

Honoring Kenny as pallbearers will be Chris Branch, Jeremy Branch, Kenny Branch, Kyle Branch, Matthew Branch and Noah Branch. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be James Branch and Maxie Branch.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to Shriners Children’s Hospital, 3100 Samford Ave., Shreveport, LA 71103, Tunnels to Towers, https://t2t.org/donate/, or Team Gleason Foundation, teamgleason.org/donate/.