George McKinnley Martin

The world lost a great lover of cars today. George McKinnley Martin died unexpectedly. Despite valiant efforts to save him, he succumbed to a fatal heart attack. He is preceded in death by his mother, Helen L. "Lori" Shaw, his stepfather, Don Shaw, and his father Clinton Carroll "CC" Hill; grandmother, Hassie Rogers and grandfather, George "Doc" Rogers; father-in -law, Wiley Blake "WB" Buchanan; grandmothers, Annie C. Buchanan and Ella H. Hedrick; and several dear aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Coming from a long line of military service, George served as a Navy Corpsman and Assistant Company Commander during the Vietnam era and was also a Platoon Leader and Assistant Drill Instructor in the Army and Reserves . After his stint in the Navy, he joined the Army, serving with a battalion based in Seattle, WA. While living in Seattle, he worked for Todd Shipyards. Later, he moved to VA and worked for Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock.

George graduated from Bryan Adams High School in Dallas, TX in 1969. In his 30's, George decided to pursue the college degree that he was unable to complete in his youth. He attended New River Community College, earning his AS degree, Magna Cum Laude; then ETSU where he majored in manufacturing engineering earning a BS degree. He went on to pursue a Master's degree, but grew tired of the poverty stricken full-time college student life, and left ETSU to work in management for manufacturing companies in TN and VA. His specialties were injection molding and metal fabrication. He retired from Valcom in Roanoke, VA.

George's passion was cars, mainly vintage European sports cars, but he could tell you about most any make and model from the earliest vehicles to the obscure to new releases. He found them fascinating and beautiful, especially convertibles. He owned several vintage sports cars throughout his life, including Porsches, an Austin-Healey, Triumphs, a Jaguar, and several MGBs and MGCs. Early in their marriage, he and Anna traveled to car shows in VA, TN, and NC on weekends. He enjoyed a few years with a BMW Z3, and loved cruising in it with W.B. George supported himself as a mechanic in his youth, helping build Formula Fords, and later paying bills for college as an import sports car mechanic. He loved spending weekends at area cruise-ins, meeting others and admiring their cars. He also enjoyed watching circuit racing and occasionally got to go round a circuit during audience events. He met friend and fellow Porsche enthusiast, Richard Lindsey at a European car event at Road Atlanta. They enjoyed meeting up for races and car events over the years, even going to the Concours d'Elegance on Amelia Island, FL and a Barrett Jackson auto auction in Palm Beach, FL. George spent lots of time with good friend, James "Sarge" Sargent at car events and assisting Sarge with various auto projects. Watching the annual LeMans race with Anna was a tradition and on his bucket list to experience. Even though it had become more physically difficult to work on his beloved cars, he still spent hours researching and watching instruction videos on the internet and would discuss them with friends, especially neighbor and mechanic, Tim Bowen. George frequently swung by Tim's business to discuss projects.

George loved history. He enjoyed many hours of History Channel documentaries, militaria, and sharing his own knowledge about the past. He and WB spent one of their Z3 road trips going to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA, and he enjoyed trips to Colonial Williamsburg with Anna, and several of WB's Air Force reunion trips to various museums throughout the country. He also enjoyed discussing European and Scottish military history with family friend, Hugh MacAlpine of Wick, Highland, in the United Kingdom.

George is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Anna Buchanan Martin; sister, Barbara (Moe) Blanchette; brother, McKinley C. Hill; mother-in-law, Mary H. Buchanan; two close cousins, Kenneth (Tammy) McManus and Roger Germany, along with an extensive list of Rogers cousins; brothers-in-law, Tom (Kim) Buchanan, Ken (Tracy) Buchanan, and Phil (Kate) Buchanan; sister-in-law, Ella Buchanan; nieces, Kathryn Blanchette and Josalyn (Evan) Bell; nephews, Rick (Bethany) Lovering, Tyler (Yessica) Buchanan, George Buchanan, James Robert Buchanan; Blake (Elaina) Buchanan, Holden Buchanan, and Graham Buchanan; and three great-nieces, Eve, Rose, and Mae; dear friends James "Sarge" (Resa) Sargent and James (Sandra) Simpkins.

Also surviving George is his beloved cat, Precious, who misses him very much. She is waiting for him in their special recliner - the one he bought so she had plenty of space to rearrange herself when not napping on his lap. Precious was a stray/neuter foster fail who was treated like a princess by her Daddy.

The family would like to thank special neighbors, Tim and Diana Bowen and their sweet son, Gabriel. The Grandneighbor is grateful for your constant support, help, and friendship. Not sure what we'd do without you.

We would like to thank NRV 911, the Christiansburg Rescue Squad, Christiansburg Police Department, and the Lewis Gale Montgomery ER and ICU staffs for their quick response, skill, care, and kindness.

George is in the care of Givens Funeral Home. He will be interred at the Southwest Virginia Veteran's Cemetery in Dublin, VA. A memorial event will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a donation to your local animal shelter or cat rescue/TNR group; Christiansburg Rescue Squad; 190 Depot St NW, Christiansburg, VA 24073; Vittles for Vets Radford; 7757 Walker Farms Drive; Radford, VA 24141-8089; the Southwest Virginia Veteran's Cemetery; 5550 Bagging Plant Road; Dublin, VA 24084; or your local branch of the American Heart Association

The family is being served by Givens Funeral Home in Pearisburg, (540) 921-1650; online at givensfuneralhome.com.