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| Dan and grandson, Ryan |
It's hard to briefly summarize such a full life. Dan, who
was born in Scarborough, Me., and relocated with his family to Wellsville in
1965, was for decades a fixture among Wellsville’s brigades of first
responders. He began with the Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corps at age 16
and remained involved with volunteer services until 2018.
Among his roles: President and first assistant rescue chief
of the WVAC, member of the Genesee Hose Company/Wellsville Fire Company,
trainer of emergency responders in rescue, and more recently a trainer for
police departments in how to handle encounters with autistic people and others
who may not be able to respond to their questions. He was joined in many of
those volunteer efforts by his wife Karen (Curtis), making them a potent
combination of selfless help to others. Dan also served a term on the
Wellsville Central School District board of education and was a former member
of the village zoning board.
But Dan’s most enjoyable volunteer role was as co-founder
and CEO of Race Services Inc., which provided the rescue team and other
volunteers at the Watkins Glen International race track, where he, Karen and a
shifting posse of relatives and friends spent nearly every summer weekend
camping at night – bonfire, anyone? – and directing all emergency services for
race teams and fans during the day. Dan also traveled around the country to
work as a firefighter/medic on Rescue 91 with the Sports Car Club of America’s
pro series.
Of course, the nature of volunteer work means those passions
went unpaid, at least in dollars, so Dan made his living through a series of
jobs including a stint as a Wellsville village police officer, running his own
business inspecting and charging fire extinguishers, working with his father,
Mickey Martelle, at the family’s Right Now Printing on Wellsville’s Main
Street, and, since 1993, as a cell-site technician, most recently for AT&T,
a job that had him scrambling across hillsides in all manner of weather to keep
cell towers alive.
But it was volunteer work that invigorated Dan, a
manifestation of his defining spirit of generosity. A case in point: When he
and Karen took guardianship of their autistic grandson, Ryan, they converted
their backyard into a playscape which they made available to other families
with special needs children.
In fact, Dan and Ryan developed an unusually deep bond
despite the generational, and communications, divide, and in many ways each
helped the other expand their worlds.
Over the years, Dan assembled an extensive collection of
tools in the workshop he built in the family’s backyard, and readily granted
access to friends and neighbors who happened to have a little project that
needed a router or a belt sander or a small drill press. He and Karen also
hosted regular barbecues and informal gatherings around their backyard fire pit
through which they fed and entertained a revolving group of family, neighbors
and friends.
It was around the firepit, in fact, where firepit buff J.R.
Rummel (Dan’s doctor, neighbor and fellow woodworker) teamed up with Dan to
create the Martelle Marshmallow Institute, an uncredentialled school of lesser
learning designed to craft exotic, and occasionally, high-octane S’mores.
Dan for a time also was a semi-avid deer hunter, venturing
out in the woods each fall with Mickey and his friends. But Dan and Mick were
more interested in the camaraderie than in the hunting. In fact, Dan only
dropped one deer during all those excursions – a small buck that ran right at
him.
“I shot it in self-defense,” he said.
Over time, Dan and Mickey realized their favorite part of
the outings was lunch afterward, so they dropped the hunting and just went to
lunch. They reached the same conclusion about golf, eventually skipping the
nature walks in search of lost balls to proceed directly to beef on weck.
Dan enjoyed a wide circle of friends, including – in
addition to the Rummel family – Jim, Susan, Scott and Jamie Cicirello; Sylvia
Masin, Tom Kristoffersen and family, and far too many others to list.
Dan is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married August
20, 1976, and their children Becky of Horseheads, and Katie and Chris (Jeana)
of Wellsville; grandchildren Ryan, Matthew, Tripp and Harlee, all of
Wellsville; his mother, Dorothy Martelle of Wellsville; siblings Scott
(Margaret) of Irvine, Ca., Lisa (Joe Harvey) of Pasadena, Md., Craig (Tammy) of
Conestoga, Pa., and Jen (Steve) Heicklin of Medford Lakes, N.J.; sister-in-law
Carol Howard of Virginia and Chuck (Joan) of Perkiomenville, Pa.; and a small
village of nieces, nephews, and extended family in Maine.
Dan was predeceased by his father, Mickey, in 2015, and a
brother, Michael, in 1956.
Visiting hours will be from 6-9 p.m. Friday (Oct. 25) at the
J. W. Embser Sons Funeral Home at 34 West State Street, Wellsville. The funeral
will begin with visiting hours from 11 a.m.-noon Saturday (Oct. 26) at The
Presbyterian Church of Wellsville, 68 North Main Street, followed by a memorial
service at noon and then a reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
donations be made to the Wilmot Cancer Center in Rochester, the Hart Comfort
House in Wellsville, the Allegany Arc, or to an organization of the donor’s
choice.
