Bill Martin, a true Colorado cowboy, passed away on September 5, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Bill was born in Glenwood Springs, CO. He grew up on the family ranch on Sweetwater Creek, Gypsum, near the one homesteaded by his grandparents, Bill and Ella Gannon, in the early 1900s. Bill and his older sister Lorna attended the one-room Sweetwater School until 1963, when they no longer had a teacher (one year, Bill and Lorna were the only two students at the school). Bill finished grade school in Gypsum when his family sold the original ranch, built a home further up Sweetwater, and had another home in Gypsum.

Graduating from Eagle Valley High in 1970 (class size 36), Bill attended Fort Lewis College and went on to Colorado State University-Fort Collins, graduating in 1974 with a BS in Physical Education and Health.

He went from college to cowboying on ranches in Wyoming, North Park, CO, and feedlots in Arizona. While he was working as an irrigator in the spring of 1978 at Anderson Camps, a private children’s camp in Gypsum, he met his future wife, Janet Meck.

Bill and Janet were married in 1982 at their home in Sweetwater, with a reception for the whole community at the schoolhouse.

At Anderson Camps, Bill was a mentor to generations of camp kids from around the world. He initiated the High-Country Riding Camp program as part of Anderson Camps. Bill and Janet became co-directors of the camp, working there throughout the 80s.

Bill was respected for his team roping skills and was a proud member of the Eagle Valley Roping Club, winning the Heeler High Point Saddle in 1993.

He was a patient, intuitive horseman who loved starting colts and turning them into confident, safe horses. He also worked at Wylaco Supply in Eagle and Gypsum, rode the permits for ranchers in White River National Forest, and had a business in trust-deed loans, after Bill and Janet settled in Grand Junction in 2001.

Bill loved family, horses, Dalmatians, cats, and the high country, pinochle and cribbage, team roping, his many dear friends and their children, his “camp kids” and staff. Bill’s faith

was strong; he loved the Lord and knew he would be joining Him when he left his large and doting family on Earth.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Loren F. Martin and Ruth Gannon Martin, and his much-loved Uncle John Gannon. He is survived by his wife, Janet Martin; his sister, Lorna (Martin) McIlnay and her husband David; niece Kim McIlnay, husband Josh Buhs and son Quin; nephew John McIlnay and wife Shani and children Landon, Carter and Walker; sister-in-law Kathy Carson; niece Katy Timothy, husband Jason, and their children Aspen, Asher, Lennon, and Layla; niece Kristy Antonette and husband Mike and children Payten and Vinnie; sister- and brother-in-law Patty (Meck) and David Ellis; brother-in-law Rich Meck his children, Erich and Jamie; his pseudo-daughters Blair Boardman, Claire Wilson, Katie Stephens LaFramboise and Malorie Stephens, and Anderson Camps kids from around the globe

Memorial service will be held at

Redlands Community Center, 2463 Broadway, Grand Junction

Friday September 18, Noon

Bill would say, “Wear jeans.”

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a donation to:

Harmony Acres Equestrian Center in memory of Bill Martin www.harmonyacresec.org /PO Box 38, Fruita, CA 81521

or

PEO Chapter GF

℅ 2816 Rio Grande Ct

Grand Junction, CO 81501