William "Stretch" Bill Martin

William "Stretch" Martin (better known as Billy) passed away on March 22, 2025, in Kansas City, MO.

Billy was born the youngest of nine children in Jersey City, NJ to John and Emma Martin. Billy gave his life to Christ at an early age, and was baptized at Grace Van Vorst Epistolian Church in Jersey City, NJ and again on December 1, 2013, at St. Mark Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO.

Billy was a dominant force on the basketball court. He played for Lincoln High School in Jersey City, NJ, establishing records that are still undefeated. He then went on to play for Hartwick College in Jersey City, NJ, and Iowa State where he continued to shatter records before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons and eventually playing internationally.

Billy went on to work as a beloved bartender at Seagull Bar in Jersey City, NJ before he moved to Kansas City, MO. He began working as a security guard and finally retired.

Billy was preceded in death by his daughter Dominique Khalla Fields-Martin, his parents, John and Emma Martin; siblings: Laura Mae (George), Emma Lou, Earl “Sonny” (Alice), John “Shane” (Beatrice), George (Inez), Richard, and Shirley (Norman and later Baxter).

Billy is survived by his sister Bernice Martin-Kearse (James), stepchildren Willie, Joseph, Lamar, and Kamiesha Fields, along with his caring niece Rosalind Harley-Clayborn, and a heap of other beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.