Mark and Lynette Martens
Bob Neuman
Boyd Hamilton Dowler was quarterback at Cheyenne High School, University of Colorado and Green Bay Packers (1959-71) as a wide receiver. He played in two Super Bowls (1965-67) and is in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.
Mark Martens ran track but also played football at Cheyenne High School, graduating in 1955; and who was his buddy and teammate? Boyd Hamilton Dowler. According to Mark, the team rarely lost a game.
During high school, Mark worked as a bell hop in a uniform. He was offered a chance to play football at the college in Pueblo, Colorado, but because of a prior neck injury, he chose to work in the steel mill. When a strike occurred, he hauled pipes to oil fields in New Mexico. Back to Cheyenne, he managed a service station. In addition, he served eight years in the Wyoming National Guard.
Lynette Harper graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1955 and knew of Mark. An excellent honor student, she was admitted to the University of Wyoming with a scholarship.
After college, Lynette worked at the Veterans Administration office in Cheyenne. In 1966, her career as secretary of an elementary school began. Then it was a couple of years with the governor’s State Planning Department. Having moved to Thermopolis, she was employed by the school district until retirement in 1994.
Mark and Lynette honeymooned in Las Vegas in 1977.
They possess an attractive plaque that contains pictures of their honeymoon and two keys to the hotel room. A second marriage for both, their combined families include five children, 12 grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Four of the families are in Cheyenne and a daughter lives in Louisiana.
After 30 years with the Wyoming Highway Department where he supervised crews, trained employees on heavy equipment, evaluated and budgeted for state roads and was responsible for blasting and removing fallen rock in beautiful Wind River Canyon, Mark retired in 1992.
When hearing about SunBird, they investigated and chose the perfect lot with its lovely desert view and built their home in 1994.
Lynette, an excellent pianist, is an accompanist for the SunBird Community Church and the SunBird Singers. A talented artist, her beautiful paintings hang throughout the home. She is also a ravenous reader. Directly after moving, she and Mark joined the Golf Club, participating in league and tournament play. Lynette has been an employee for our HOA since 1995 and the manager of our Post Office since 2005.
Mark learned to make and repair golf clubs. He enjoys making beautiful stained glass art and tending his flower garden on a unique patio. He has built and raced stock cars and was a serious golfer.
Both follow the University of Wyoming sports; while here it’s ASU football, the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals and the Suns.
“We love to cruise. Our latest was a 15-day trip to Hawaii. Others were to Alaska and the Mexican Riviera,” remarked Lynette.
To find a more traveled, gregarious and talented couple would be very difficult.