Ray A. Martin

Ray A. Martin, 72, of East Peoria, passed away on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at 7:10 p.m. at Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria. He was born in Peoria on September 20, 1951, to Eugene and Evelyn (Cobb) Martin. He married his wife of 50 years, Janice Couri, on June 16, 1973, at St. Monica Catholic Church in East Peoria; she survives. Also surviving are his three children, Diane (Chris) Murphy of Morton, Thomas Martin of Peoria, and Matthew (Shelby) Martin of Fairview; his mother, Evelyn Martin of Morton; his brother, Donald (Joann) Martin of Zanesville, OH; his sister, Christine (Donald) Wheeler of Groveland; 7 grandchildren, Troy, Jenna, Rylie, Lauren, Madison, Katherine, and Emma; 17 brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; Vickie (Paul) Flynn, Karen (Fred) Clark, Bob (Kathy) Couri, Deb (Bill) Spears, Sue Couri, Cindy (Lester) Behrends, Jeannine (George) Jacob, Beth (Ed) Olehy, Tricia (Jeff) Lambrich; and 44 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Thomas and Jeanette Couri; and one brother-in-law, Michael Couri. Ray graduated from EPCHS Class of 1970 and worked as a machinist at Caterpillar for 35 years, retiring in 2009. He enjoyed fishing, gardening, woodworking, and sketching. If the weather was nice, you'd always find him on the river in his boat fishing or at a local lake. He was also an amazing handyman that could fix anything and loved helping people with anything they needed. Everyone knew he was always a phone call away, no matter the time of day or night, if something was broken or needed fixing. During his spare time, he loved to draw, sketch, and make furniture. He had a huge heart for animals, especially dogs; always had a huge smile on his face and loved pranking and joking around with his family. But most importantly, he loved being a husband, dad, and grandpa. He loved taking his kids and grandkids fishing and boating and teaching them about fishing, gardening, and woodworking. If you were doing any of these things with him, he made sure you were hands on, taking your own fish off your hook or using the drill to help build something. He also loved going to all the grandkids’ sports and school activities and in his retirement, he enjoyed picking his grandkids up from school, driving them around and laughing when they always referred to him as "Chauffer Bob". Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, April 1, 2024, at Gary Deiters Funeral Home & Cremation Services in East Peoria. A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at the funeral home, with additional visitation from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service. Father John Steffen will officiate. Burial will follow at Fondulac Cemetery in East Peoria. Memorial contributions may be made to Hooked on Fishing. Online condolences may be left at www.GaryDeitersFH.com.

Ray A. Martin

September 20, 1951 - March 26, 2024