Sam Martino, 85, died on Saturday, April 20, from a heart attack while mowing his lawn in DeForest, Wisconsin. His career as a journalist and journalism educator spanned more than 60 years.
Born on Feb. 5, 1939, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, to Frank and Flora Ann Spino Martino, he began his reporting career in high school with the Dearborn Guide and Detroit Times. He received a scholarship to attend Michigan State University, where he studied journalism and was state editor for the Lansing State Journal. Following completion of his journalism degree in 1962, he continued the work he began in college with the Associated Press and United Press International (UPI) spanning 10 years as a contributing writer to the Washington Post, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and The Capital Times.
He retired from the Milwaukee Journal in 2000, after 27 years of investigative reporting. He then joined the teaching staff at UW-Whitewater, where, for 12 years, he inspired future journalists and acted as advisor to the student newspaper. Most recently, he served as a regular contributor to the Edgerton Reporter.
Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Friday, April 26, followed by a service at 11 a.m. at St. Ann Catholic Church, 323 N. Van Buren St., Stoughton, WI. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Martino Journalism Scholarship at UW-Whitewater at www.uww.edu/give or by check, payable to UW-Whitewater Foundation, noting the Martino Journalism Scholarship. Checks can be sent to UW-Whitewater Foundation, Inc., 800 W Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190.
