Funeral services Monday for Martin family

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004 | 11:32 a.m.

Funeral services

Funeral services for Charles, Melissa and Harrison Martin will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, January 5, at Christ Episcopal Church, 2100 S. Maryland Pkwy.

The family request donations be made for the lone survior Madison Martin in lieu of flowers. Donations can be made to the Madison Martin Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo branch.

Charles Martin, wife Melissa Martin, 35, and son Harrison Martin, 6, died in the fire Jan. 1. Their son Madison Martin, 7, survived the fire thanks to his father who woke him and told him to get out of the house.

"They were a loving family of four," Garry Carter, Melissa Martin's father, said. "They loved to go to Disneyland. They loved to travel."

Carter said the family enjoyed going to theme parks, and had a season pass to Disneyland in California. The grandfather remembers Harrison as "fearless" when it came to theme park rides.

"(Harrison) couldn't wait to be big enough to ride all of the big rides," Carter said. "He loved them. We were planning to go to the park in Orlando next week. He was so excited."

Carter recalls the day he drove Harrison, a kindergarten student, to Hayes Elementary on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

"When I told him we were going on my Harley, his eyes just lit up," he said. "When we got to his school, he wanted us to sit out front for a while so all the kids could see him on the bike."

The 6-year-old also loved playing on the family computer, Carter said.

"I had just fixed up a computer for him and we just spent the night together two nights ago to play on the computer," he said. "We sat together until 5 a.m. I didn't want to wake my wife, so we went to another bed together."

Carter remembers not wanting to let go of his grandson.

"I put my arms around him and didn't want to let go of him," he said. "This is so hard to think about."

Carter remembers his daughter Melissa, a stay-at-home mom, as a beautiful woman who loved to travel.

"She loved traveling, she was always wanting to go somewhere," he said. "She was a great mother and loved taking her kids to different places."

Carter's son-in-law Charles, who friends and family members called "Chaz," was a doorman at Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and a longtime surfer.

"He loved to surf, that was what he loved," he said. "Chaz grew up on the coast of California near San Diego. He surfed all his life. It was his favorite thing to do."

Melissa was a native Las Vegan and Charles moved to Las Vegas in 1990 after his mother died. He got his job at the Flamingo that year. They were married eight years.

The Martins are survived by son Madison Martin, Melissa Martin's parents Garry and Victoria Carter, Melissa's brother, Garry Carter Jr. and great-grandmother Elizabeth Higgins.

The funeral will be 2 p.m. Monday, January 5, at Christ Episcopal Church, 2100 S. Maryland Pkwy.

In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made for lone survior Madison Martin. Donations can be made to the Madison Martin Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo branch.