Memorial

Raymond Henry Martens, 82, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa passed away at his home on Monday, August 16, 2021, surrounded by his loving family.

A visitation for Ray will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, August 20, 2021, at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories with Randy Walton officiating.  A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, August 20, 2021, at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories. A livestream of the service will be available on the Cedar Memorial website under the obituary for Raymond Martens under the video tab starting on Friday, August 20, at 2:00 PM.

Raymond was born November 7, 1938, to Frank and Dorothy (Hoefing) Martens in Webster County, Iowa.  He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Coe College; after graduation, he earned his CPA. He married Jacqueline Jo Erickson on October 8, 1961, in Des Moines, Iowa.   Ray retired from West Steel in 1985 as an accountant. 

Ray loved spending time with his family and especially his grandkids.  He was an avid reader and enjoyed fishing and deer hunting.  He looked forward to his annual deer hunting trip to the family farm each year, where he showed off his breakfast cooking skills each morning.  He was also a big Iowa Hawkeyes fan in all sports.  He and Jo had season football tickets for many years.

Survivors include his wife, Jo of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; children, Doug (Brenda) Martens of Toddville, Iowa, Bonnie (John) Taylor of Robins, Iowa, Jonathan (Gennie) Martens of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; grandchildren, Max Martens, Mitch Martens, Robert (Haley) Taylor, Colin (Emily) Taylor, Kaitlyn Martens, Erik Martens, Charlotte Martens, Cora Martens; Great-Grandchild, Winston Taylor; Sister, Marcella Passow; and many nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Merilyn Passow. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital by clicking the link below: 
https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_dcm=58700006941054395&sc_cid=kwp&sc_cat=b&ds_rl=1285465&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9uDkz5i28gIVu2pvBB2jEQ3rEAAYASABEgJNYPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds