Kristopher David Martin was born on August 9, 1947, in Des Moines, lowa. While vacationing in one of his favorite spots, Arcadia, Michigan, on August 14, 2024, he went for a bike ride to move his legs and get some exercise. He was not wearing a helmet, and unfortunately had a cardiac arrest and then fell onto a paved road causing brain injury. His heart was restarted four times and he was then flown to Munson Hospital in Traverse City. Despite the best medical care possible, Kris had his last breath on August 20, 2024. He left this world as the sun was setting, his favorite time of day, and with his two sons and his best friend Blythe Million by his side. He had just turned 77 a few days prior.

Kris was the son of the late Warren and Alice (Van Wagoner) Martin. Father Warren was a professional baseball player at the time of Kris's birth. Kris was a bat boy in the first televised baseball game in North Dakota when Warren played in Minot. Kris was a gifted athlete and loved playing sports. In 1965 he graduated from Arthur Hill High School, in Saginaw Michigan, and then went to Western Michigan University on a full-ride scholarship to play baseball.

In the late 1960s, Kris met Patti Shirley, and they traveled and lived together for a time in the Bay Area of California. In the early 1970s, Kris and Patti returned to Michigan and bought 20 acres of land west of Kalamazoo, where they lived first in a Native American tipi, inspired by a vision they had. They later constructed a wood-framed house built entirely from a house that was deconstructed. They grew vegetables and lived off the grid. Kris and Patti had two sons together.

Zeno Martin was born in 1974 and Skai Martin in 1976.

Kris started working for the City of Kalamazoo in 1972 as a surveyor and went to serve in various roles at the City where he retired in 2009. Kris earned a bachelor's degree and two Masters degrees from Western Michigan University.

Kris loved sports and reading beyond all reason He loved to learnUniversity. Kris loved sports and reading beyond all reason. He loved to learn, he loved to discuss politics and history and recipes, and to tell stories of his exploits with friends and family; he loved to laugh and he loved to eat. He would even eat your food if you let him. A decades-long practitioner of Buddhist thought and behavior, Kris had a special affinity for Sri Aribundo and Shuddhaanandaa Brahmachari, both aligning with his spiritual aspirations. He volunteered his time to help illiterate adults learn to read. Kris was generous, loving, honest, kind and thoughtful. He had many dear lifelong friends he remembered, talked about, and kept in touch with. Friends, family, and being of
benefit truly meant the world to him. Kris is survived by his two sons, Zeno and Skai, and his sister Karen Martin