Duncan Martin, Former Chair of Zoology and Biological Sciences Faculty Member, Dies at 86

Duncan Martin

Duncan Martin, chair of the former Department of Zoology, now the Department of Biological Sciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, age 86 of Fayetteville, passed away Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Fayetteville. 

He was born March 26, 1931, in Durango, Colorado, the son of Richard Willis and Ouida Duncan Martin. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of New Mexico and a doctorate from the University of Illinois. He served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. 

Martin joined the University of Arkansas faculty in the Department of Zoology in 1965, serving as the department chair in the 1980s. After the merger of the Departments of Zoology, Botany and Microbiology in the early 1990s, he was a member of the Department of Biological Sciences until his retirement in 1996.

After retirement he enjoyed brewing beer and being a potter at Double Springs Pottery with Don and Mary Curtis.

He is survived by his wife, Margot; one daughter, Siobhan Martin, and grandson James both of Portland, Ore.; son, Ian Martin and his wife Katie of Fayetteville; one sister, Claudia Anderson, and one brother, Paul Martin both of Farmington, New Mexico.

The family thanks Washington Regional Wound Care Center and Hospice for many months of kind care. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Chapel. Memorial services will be private.

This story originally appeared in the University of Arkansas’ Newswire publication. Please visit news.uark.edu for more stories like this.