Marty Martindale ’58 says that he lives each day by this single thought.
’To whom much is given, much shall be required,’ and when we are willing to give away that which we have and are able to contribute for the good of others, our own life becomes much richer as a result.”
Martindale learned what his life calling was at an early age. After his first year at Shenandoah he went home to Ohio and had a summer job with the Ohio State Bank. Initially, he was told that banking would be a great career for him and he felt encouraged to see where it would lead. Only after a few days on the job, his mentor in banking suffered a fatal heart attack. Martindale realized how short life could be and questioned what his own purpose was and what he wanted to accomplish in his life.
This is not what God had placed me on earth to do. After much soul searching, I came to a conclusion and returned to Shenandoah for my second year and declared for the Christian ministry.”
From that point on, Martindale began to serve others each day of his life. Upon graduation from Shenandoah College he served for five and a half years as the student pastor of the Glasgow Charge in the Western Pennsylvania Conference for the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Martindale said that this experience gave him invaluable familiarity in dealing with church members as well as people in the community.
Just as Shenandoah had launched me on my life mission, this first pastorate launched me on my ministerial career.”
During this time, Martindale finished his degree at Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va. and also married Helen Ruth McClain ’59 and began his family. The couple moved back to Ohio in 1965 and he became a student pastor and commuted to The United Theological Seminary where he graduated in 1968 with a Master of Divinity degree. Over a period of years, Martindale served many churches and congregations. He was asked to lead the Franklin Church of the United Brethren in Christ in their new church building program, which opened in 1971. One of his main accomplishments was that under his leadership, the church was completely debt-free by 1985. In August 1985, Martindale was elected to serve as the first full-time Central Conference Superintendent for the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, working with over 100 ministries and 66 churches in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. This job became physically challenging as Martindale found himself traveling over 40,000 miles a year visiting churches. He retired in 1990, but has remained active in Christian service.
In December 1990, Martindale began a second career in retail sales with Chrysler and is currently a Chrysler Certified Sales Consultant at the Liberty-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram Dealership in Pataskala, Ohio. Martindale remarried in 1993 and now resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Celinda. In 2003, he received a Doctorate of Theology from Slidell Baptist Seminary, which is near New Orleans, La.
My most rewarding experiences include many instances from my pastoral ministry, extending to two and three generations of families in the local church, by just being with them, to help frame their experiences of joy and grief in the greater context of God’s love and His purpose for life.”
Martindale is excited to be involved with Shenandoah University once again. He is a new member of the SU Alumni Board of Directors. He has many memories from attending school in Dayton including the wild escapades his classmates and he engaged in during initiation week, the special personal attention received in small classes, and just listening to the Conservatory students making music (especially on those long weekends as Martindale lived 350 miles from home).
I am excited about being involved with the Shenandoah University Alumni Association Board of Directors! Perhaps I can discover some meaningful way to be of service to the ongoing educational mission of SU this year.”