Andrew Franklin Martin (December 7, 1894 – June 9, 1982), born in

Akins, Oklahoma Akins is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 493 at the 2010 census, an increase of 9.8 percent over the fi ...

, was a

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

, a bandmaster and an educational administrator and one of ten founding members of

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricult ...

, National Honorary Band Fraternity. He was an education student at

Oklahoma A&M College Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the class of 1920. In 1916, Martin joined the Chi Alpha social club which was formed explicitly to petition for a charter of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

. The Alpha-Eta Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha was established on the campus of Oklahoma A&M on September 15, 1917. Beyond Kappa Kappa Psi, Martin was the Managing Editor of the 1920 ''Redskin'' yearbook, a Lambda Chi Alpha delegate to the local Interfraternity Council, a member of the student senate, the vice president of the education society, a member of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

cabinet, and social editor of the school newspaper ''Orange and Black''.

Kappa Kappa Psi

Martin was the president of the Oklahoma A&M band in 1919 when

William A. Scroggs William Alexander Scroggs (November 27, 1896 – March 14, 1984), born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, was an insurance agent and Founder of Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity. He was a commerce and marketing student at Oklahoma A&M Col ...

, a member of the band, approached him with plans for an honorary band fraternity. Martin agreed to help with the fraternity's creation and was selected, along with Scroggs and eight other members of the band, to serve as a founding member of the fraternity by band director

Bohumil Makovsky Bohumil (Boh) Makovsky (September 23, 1878 – June 12, 1950) was a band director and head of the Department of Music at Oklahoma A&M College (now known as Oklahoma State University) from 1915 to 1945. He is considered "the Guiding Spirit" of Ka ...

. At the first meeting of the fraternity, Martin was elected vice president of the chapter and was later elected Grand President when the men began planning the national organization. Martin served as chairman of the ritual committee of the new fraternity and did much work for the third degree of ritual. Martin also served on the degree oaths committee. In 1939, Martin became the National Executive Secretary of the fraternity, a position he held until 1964. He and his wife Grace received the

Distinguished Service to Music Medal The Distinguished Service to Music Medal is an award presented by Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity. It is awarded to people who have contributed to the advancement of the wind band "as a cultural, musical and educational medium. ...

in 1965 for their service to the fraternity. In the same year, Martin was made a life member of the board of trustees. In 1984, Kappa Kappa Psi established the A. Frank Martin Award to recognize regionally-known band directors who have made significant contributions to the band field. In 1999,

Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority. The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active ...

renamed the award given to the outstanding chapter in the nation during the biennium to the Grace and A. Frank Martin Chapter Leadership Award, in honor of the Martins' help in getting Tau Beta Sigma operating.

Personal life

Martin married Grace Faye Aikins in

Pawnee City, Nebraska Pawnee City is a city and county seat of Pawnee County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 878 at the 2010 census. History Pawnee City was incorporated in 1858, and is named after the Pawnee Native Americans. By the 1880s, Pawnee Cit ...

, on August 12, 1919. The couple had three children: Andrew Franklin Martin Jr., Frances Martin, and Mildred Martin. Andrew F. Martin Jr. was born June 11, 1920, and was a Major in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Martin Jr. died on December 1, 1954, in an accident off

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

and is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. Frances was a charter member of the Alpha chapter of

at Oklahoma State and served as the sorority's fourth National President from 1951 to 1953. A. Frank Martin died on June 9, 1982, and is buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Stillwater.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Andrew Franklin 1894 births 1982 deaths People from Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Kappa Kappa Psi founders Oklahoma State University alumni Distinguished Service to Music Medal recipients