Father Martin Dies at Age 84
The Rev. Joseph C. Martin, S.S., noted authority and lecturer on alcoholism who co-founded Father Martin's Ashley, an addiction treatment center in Havre de Grace, MD, died today at his home in Havre de Grace. He was 84.Services are scheduled Friday, March 13. at 10 am at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD.
Best known for his lectures on alcoholism as a disease, delivered to alcoholics and their families with his charismatic style and sense of humor, Fr. Martin is credited with saving the lives of thousands of alcoholics and addicts. While he retired from active management in 2003, he continued to lecture at Father Martin's Ashley, addressing patients as recently as November 2008.
The Loss of an Icon
"Today, the entire treatment community mourns the loss of an icon," said the Rev. Mark Hushen, president and chief executive officer of Father Martin's Ashley. "The death of Father Martin marks the end of an era.
"His world renowned 'Chalk Talk on Alcohol' changed the lives of thousands of recovering alcoholics," Hushen said. "His humor and spirituality infused his teachings with hope. He believed in the innate dignity of the human person and founded Father Martin's Ashley as an oasis where alcoholics and addicts could heal."
Fr. Martin's "Chalk Talk on Alcohol" lecture, which began: "I'm Joe Martin, and I'm an alcoholic," and more than 40 motivational films, are legendary. His films, which have been translated into multiple languages, continue to be used at treatment centers around the world, in hospitals, substance abuse programs, industry, and most branches of the U.S. government. He is the author of several publications, including Chalk Talks on Alcohol, published by Harper & Row in 1982, which is still in print.
Treatment for 40,000
Fr. Martin and Father Martin's Ashley co-founder Mae Abraham raised funds to buy and renovate Oakington, the estate owned by the widow of U.S. Senator Millard Tydings located on the Chesapeake Bay near Havre de Grace. The center, which opened in 1983, has since provided treatment to more than 40,000 people suffering from the disease of addiction and has provided program services to their families.
Two years after Father Martin's Ashley opened its doors, Forbes magazine ranked it as one of the top ten addiction treatment facilities in the country. Today, patients come from the East Coast and across the U.S. to the 85-bed facility, which has a reputation for treating alcohol and drug addiction and relapse with respect for the dignity of each individual who enters its doors.
In 1972, the U.S. Navy filmed Martin's "The Blackboard Talk," which they then dubbed "The Chalk Talk." It became known throughout the U.S. military and established Fr. Martin as a recognized leader in the addiction treatment field.
Honors and Awards
In 1991, Fr. Martin was invited by Pope John Paul II to participate in the Vatican's International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol. He made four trips to Russia under the auspices of the International Institute on Alcohol Education and Training, and also traveled to Switzerland and Poland to speak to Alcoholics Anonymous groups as well as to addiction counselors in training.
Fr. Martin's honors and awards include the Andrew White Medal from Loyola College, Baltimore, for his contributions to the general welfare of the citizenry of Maryland; Rutgers University's Summer School of Alcohol Studies' Distinguished Service Award (1988); and Norman Vincent Peale Award (1992).
Born the fourth of seven children in Baltimore on October 12, 1924, Fr. Martin graduated from Loyola High School in 1942, where he was valedictorian. He then attended Loyola College (1942-44). He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary and St. Mary's Roland Park in Baltimore (1944-48), and was ordained a priest of the Society of Saint Sulpice, whose mission is to train and educate seminarians, in 1948.
Legacy Lives On
Fr. Martin held teaching positions at St. Joseph's College in Mountain View, CA (1948-56) and St. Charles College, Catonsville, MD (1956-59).
In 1958, Fr. Martin began his recovery from alcoholism. Following treatment, he worked as a lecturer and educator in the Division of Alcohol Control for the state of Maryland prior to founding Father Martin's Ashley.
"As Father Martin passes through death to life, his legacy lives on at Ashley as we continue his mission of hope and healing," said Fr. Hushen. "Truly, the world is a better place for his having been here." Fr. Martin is survived by Mae and Tommy Abraham, with whom he lived for more than 30 years, siblings Dorothy, Frances, and Edward; and numerous nieces, nephews, and their children.
Services Scheduled
The viewing will be on Thursday, March 12, from 1 pm to 9 pm at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. Fr. Martin's Mass of Celebration of the Resurrection will be held on Friday, March 13 at 10 am at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD. Interment will be private.
Expressions of remembrance may be e-mailed to ashley.marketing@fmashley.com or mailed to Father Martin Remembrance, Father Martin's Ashley, 800 Tydings Lane, Havre de Grace, MD 21078. They will be posted on the Father Martin's Ashley website.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Father Martin's Ashley treatment center, 800 Tydings Lane, Havre de Grace, MD 21078 or to The Associated Sulpicians of the U.S., 5408 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210.
Feel free to leave comments below.
Source: Obituary. Father Martin's Ashley. 9 March 2009.
Photo: fathermartinsashley.org
Thank You God for Fr. Martin!
Fr. Martin shook me to my core when I was about 15 year’s old living in Massachusetts. Now 50 yrs old. That was when I saw “Chalk Talk” for the first time. I cleaned up my addictions for most of my adult life. In 2006 after an accident in the surf and a taste of pain medication following. I relapsed and my wife insisted I go to Ashley’s. To my surprise I got to meet Fr. Martin and found out firsthand what spirituality is. Fr. Martin, Truly a great man. He certainly had a great impact of two generations of alcoholics in my family. My brother died from the disease at age 46. My father also died with over 30 years of sobriety. I am back on track with 2 years of sobriety. Thank You Fr. Martin! You are 2 for 3 in my family.
Thank you Father Martin for the loving way you explained that I was a sick person not a bad person. sober since 12/06/06
Father Martin is truly one of God’s angels- there are no words to express the gratitude I feel toward him. I know I am one of so many he started on a new, happy life. Love radiated through him and I am blessed to have known him. I was at Ashley in Jan. 2003, and along with all the education he put in front of us, my favorite part was sitting with him at a dining room table in the afternoon while he laughed and told jokes. He gave us all hope, and taught us how to live. My heart is broken he’s gone- but that’s just selfishness because I will miss him. I know he’s right there with God, because God sent him to all of us! I love you, Fr. Martin!
Father Martin founded a place where everyone and anyone suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction could heal without the fear of condemnation or shame. He truly loved what he did and often said of his fellow alcoholics and addicts “It’s the likes of you that keep the likes of me going!” he was always at his best helping others and truly showed the rest of us how to live by the Golden Rule and treat people with respect and dignity.
Father Martin! God Bless Father Martin and all of the lives he touched and will continue to touch for generations to come. Roxanne R (Age 49) died the week prior to Father Martin (she was sober). I met Roxanne during treatment at Father Martin’s Ashley, in November 2008. Roxanne I know was waiting in Heaven with her arms wide open to greet Father Martin where now they will watch over us and our recovery.
I have been in recovery over sixteen years. It’s no longer difficult just to stay away from that first drink. I needed people like Father Martin , though, when I was new to abstinence from the grape and fermented grain.
I can’t get to Baltimore for the funeral Mass, but I’ll be there in spirit. I’ll tell you…my boards were lit up like crazy with bulletins as soon as his death was reported—Father Martin was a giant in a setting where gurus and phony leaders are ignored. The tapes I saw when I was “new” in 1993 changed my life. I didn’t need to meet him to love him. God worked like that for me…I never had a relapse because of what I learned from people like Father Martin.
Thank you Father Martin. May you rest in peace.
thankyou
Thank you, may you rest in peace.
This is a great loss of a truely wonderful pioneer in this field. I have never met the man, nor ever been to his lectures; but I have used his style of presentation, and “Chalk Talk” as my inspiration to deliver others from the grips of this disease.
I celebrate his life, his works, and his devotion; I am, and all ways will be grateful that I am in a field that has included such a man of his character.
I mourn a loss, selfishly….and will miss hearing about his wonderous gift of healing. He is truely one of the purveyors of “HIS” goodness.
Rest well my brother in Christ; your work is carried on by those of us who have been listening to you!
In deep saddness and great respect,
Rev. Richard Whittington, CDP
Sacred Life Path Church
There was a standing ovation when the Lord greeted Father Martin on Monday, as we can all imagine who were so blessed to have spent any time at all in his presence There is not enough gratitude on this planet to offer acceptable thanksgiving for his life with us,but we will try we will try….
with deepest gratitude
Dottie Shoemaker RN CARN
Thanks for your passion but most of all for your humor. You will be missed but not forgotten……………
God bless him–I was shocked just to even know that he was still alive..Gosh he had a no non-sense approach—–I loved his films, always made feel better….
God Bless You Father, YOU SAVE MY LIFE 24 HOURS ADAY
Thank You Father Martin for allowing GOD to work through you to help so many! Your recovery videos have been a big part of my return to physical, mental, and spiritual health. GOD Bless You!
Rest in Peace, Fr. Martin! You have been a faithful and loyal servant to your religion and to alcoholics everywhere. Your memory will always be honored and cherished!
Father Martin devoted his life to educating and helping alcoholics/addicts and their families. His work and Ashely have saved mine.
As Father Martin said about one’s decision to come to Ashley and get treatment, “The nightmare is over.” My nightmare is finally over . . . I am forever grateful.
Thanks to Father Martin and Ashley, I now fully understand what was happening to me(alcoholism) and am in recovery. I learned more about myself than years of higher-education as well as skills for life – and mine has never been so good. I can live happily and be sober; for 23 years I never thought that possible.
Thanks to his faith, wisdom based on experience, avuncular speaking style, and remarkable humor the world is a smarter, brighter place.
If you haven’t seen Chalk Talk or any of his other presentations or writings, they are a must for anyone who suffers from addiction and their family and friends.
Thank you God for Father Martin. Though we mourn our loss, along with heaven we also rejoice!
Thank you, Father. Sober since 7-23-03.
Thanks to Father Martin, I will be sober for 22 years in April. I listened to everything this man said when I was in treatment. I visited Ashley every Sunday after I was released to hear Father say Mass and hug him. He kept me going the first year. I shall alway consider him my hero and I will always love him for helping bring my family together again. Grace Kordek
I listened to Father Martin when I was a patient in the chemical dependency program at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis in May of 1977. I was 20 years old and did not know the spiritual path that I would be led down all those many years ago. I have been in the field of treating substance misuse disorders for over 31 years now. God bless this fine man for the lives he touched, the field he loved, and the message he spoke that brought hope and understanding to many along the way.
I was in treatmment in 1987 saw farther martin on tape,. started in AA in 1958 he saved my life. I was a cronic alcholic. I thought i was hopeless. his films changed my life i have not had to drink again.
Father Martin was truly my hero!! He is the reason i am who i am. He has taught me so much, i can watch his “chalk talks” over and over. He is the reason my dad is sober,and I know I am truly an adult child of. He has touched so many lifes..
Father Martin was my second sponsor who was the first person to break through to me how serious and deadly is the disease of alcoholism. Thanks be to God for him. By the Grace of God I have been sober for over 23 years. By Father Martin’s example I have been a Rehab Counselor, Level 1 out-patient counselor, worked in drug education for youths, taught and educated several thousand on the disease. All of this was possible because when I asked Fr Martin to sponsor me he said “YES”.
Father Martin’s Ashley helped my husband recover from his addiction problem and helped me learn how to deal with this lifelong struggle.
May you continue to help many more people in his merit.
Thanks for saving my life Father Martin. The alcohol was taking my life. Today, (after 26 years of sobriety) I have been blessed with being able to help others while earning a living sharing what you taught me. Heaven no longer waits for you.
Thanks Father Martin for continuing to inspire those suffering from alcoholism. Your message will carry on.
Wow that is surely sad news. Father Martin was the person that allowed me to save myself from alcoholism. I am sure glad I took the opportunity to go and hear him speak a few times. The chalk Talk on Alocholism was critical in my seeing my drinking for what it really was. It was the first step for me into a life of sobriety…The world has lost a savior to millions…He was a true man of God and servant to humanity..I was blessed to have met him and am grateful for his life touching mine…He was a great man! Kenneth Prosch
TO ALL THE PEOPLE @ASHLEY I SEND MY CONDOLENCES.FATHER MARTIN WAS A WONDERFUL PERSON.HE SAVED MY LIFE. GOD NOW HAS ANOTHER SAINT IN HEAVEN. THANK YOU ASHLEY AND FATHER MARTIN.
My son was finishing up his second week at Father Martin’s Ashley when we learned of Father Martin’s death. Now that he is with God in heaven, I believe more than ever that he will be able to touch my son with his words and restore him to health. Thank you for this beautiful, healing place in Havre de Grace.
I was blessed to spend one full day with Father Martin back in 1985.I picked him up at the Minneapolis airport the day he was scheduled to speak in Red Wing MN. It was a day I will nver forget as long as I live. He gave me my life back 27 years ago.I know in my heart he is watching from above with chalk in his hands!
God Bless you and keep you Fr Martin. You truly captured the very essence of alcoholism in your Chalk Talk classic video. Like Bill W and Dr Bob, you were a pioneer in the field of recovery and saving lives. Thank you, sincerely. Frank X
From the first time I heard father Martin speak, I knew that this man had the ability to communicate his understanding of the disease of addiction in a way that would make a difference not only in my life, but the lives of my fellow clinicians in the field and most of all to the sick and suffering alcoholics and addicts around the world. Father Martin’s humor and love for all of us enabled him to give us jewels of information that were as easily absorbed into our streams of consciousness as a bedtime story told to a child. Father Martin demystified the disease of addiction and the recovery strategy needed to combat it. He certainly understood the acronym K.I.S.S.
Father Martin is a true Saint and deserves all of our love in death as he received in life. Thank God his work lives on in the hearts and minds of so many of us.
We love you Father…Thank for your Blessings, genius, humor and most of all…Your Love.
Ron W. CADC, SAP
I first got sober in January 01, 1981; back in the day’s, we used sunday afternoon as a time to show films, Hence Chalk Talk was of many. Not a tear was dry after a showing of Chalk Talk plus it enhanced my recovery.
I did however slip in 1982, and stayed out for 4 years however by the grace of God, Im back and sober for 22 years. I think of his movies often and often wonder how beneficial those movies were to me and many
Have just seen notice of Father Martins passing.A great feeling of sadness and loss as when new to the programme of Alcoholics Anonymous back in August 1981 getting to see his film “Chalk Talk” here in Ireland was something very special,so much so that i bought the tape and watched it so many times.It was a great help in learning about the Disease of Alcoholism and in finding a Higer Power of my understanding.He will i am sure be at a big meeting with all the oldtimers.He helped so many of us.Thank you Father Martin,may you rest in peace.
I have recenly discovered that fr.martin died through a recent vidio and AA meeting though it has taken me some time to get to my computer to read when and where he died.Although I am very young exp Fr.Martins vidios while in re-hab I love them and recomend them for my fellow suffers.Fr.Martin will be greatly missed.He will always hold a special place in my heart for the words of wisdom he gave us all from 1st hand ex.I will pass his wisdom down to others I meet along my jorney of recovery.
I would like to say how sorry I am to hear of Fr Martains death.I am a recovering alcoholic and while in treatment in Cuan Mhuire in Ireland Fr Martain’s dvd’s are shown as part of the treatment programme there. He will be sadly missed.The legacy he leaves will continue to help future alcoholics, and help them to lead normal happy lives.
Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.
Thank you Fr Martin,
from a grateful Alcoholic!
Thank you, Father Martin, for saving my life. My stay at Ashley in 2008 has given me a new start in life with so much to look forward to. I pray that your spirit and wisdom will be with us all forever.
I am sober 6 years now because of Father Martin. My mother has her son, my wife has her husband and my children have their father. Thanks to the blessed soul that is Father Joe Martin. I think of you every day and that gives me strength. God bless you !!
In 1977/78 while in my first year of recovery, I remember watching Father Martins Chalk talks… I know they helped me in my recovery, and since I “White Knuckled it” meaning I never went through a treatment program, I payed attention to the words of the old timers in AA… Now it is up to me to never forget to keep passing in on, one day at a time… One meeting at a time… And to keep me ears and heart open…
God bless you Father Martin!
Thank you Father Martin for giving me permission to feel my feelings, which helped me to realize, I am a real human being. When I saw you in 1985, in a school auditorium, I asked for a hug from you instead of your autograph (hoping for osmosis)……you stated that was the best favor you had been asked all night! Clean & sober since Aug. 25, 1985 & now working with others at Harmony Foundation in Estes Park, CO.
Having had a relationship with God before ever seeing “Chalk Talk”, I could immediatley relate to Father Martin. The way he presented with his common sense approach but still light hearted was refreshing yet direct. I purchased the original video a few years back because it had a profound impact on me. I have been sober since 6/16/1998, one day at a time.
God bless you Fr Martin. As a 13 year old, when my Dad got sober for the final time, your talks on tape saved our family. I will never forget the impact that you had one my life. I am a better person for having “known” you.