Graduating from Perry, playing basketball at Georgia, and coaching at a selection of schools in the area and state, Lee Martin got around.

          One of the top high school basketball players in the state in the early 1960s before becoming a successful coach, Martin died Monday at the age of 78 after an extended illness.

          Services are Thursday at The Way Baptist Church in Perry, with visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m., with Reverend Bob Powell, Martin’s son in law, co-officiating.

          Martin helped Perry to a perfect boys basketball season and state title in 1962, the Panthers winning a sixth championship under legendary head coach Eric Staples. He was also an standout football player and state championship doubles tennis player.

          He went to Georgia, and earned a starting spot as a senior, averaging 7.6 points a game.

          His coaching career started at Northside, and continued at Westfield and then River North Academy.

          After earning his Master’s at Georgie Southwestern, he became head basketball coach, athletics director, and assistant headmaster at Windsor.

          His daughter Ami Lee Powell was inducted in May to the Macon Sports Hall of Fame for her career at Windsor, and owed much of the honor to her dad.

          “My dad was a coach,” she said in her acceptance speech in the Monument Room at the Macon Coliseum. “So I think I was born in a gym. I’m pretty sure I was. I know I was raised in a gym. My brother (Chris) and I were in the gym about 24/7. We were there a lot.”

          He left education for a position with the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agri-Center for about a  decade before retiring.