Richard John Livingstone Martin, always called Dick, found Schadrac St. Louis in Haiti and it changed the direction of his life. He was 
immediately captivated by Haiti and what he and Shad could do to educate the children in one small town.
Dick was happiest when he was seriously into a project and being able to see the results of his design talents. This was especially evident when he designed and supervised building a school in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, using shipping containers for the construction. He was honored at the school’s Ribbon Cutting when the 53 elementary-age children surprised him by singing the Haiti National Anthem in French and the American National Anthem in English.
Dick was born in French Indochina and lived in Shanghai, China until the Japanese invaded in 1939. His father remained in China with the British Army and his mother took Dick and his sister to live in Hawaii. Years later, Mr. Martin, became a United States citizen and lived in Hawaii until he came to the “mainland” to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. He later received his Masters Degree from UCLA. Mr. Martin’s great, grand uncle was the explorer Dr. David Livingstone who he always thought of as a role model for pursuing challenges. Dick’s son, James often said, “Dad was always the designer. He absolutely followed his own design of life.”
Mr. Martin retired in 2000 from the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech where he had taught for 25 years. Before coming to Georgia Tech, he was a Professor and Researcher at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. Dick Martin died in 2013 just a few months after the Ribbon Cutting of the school.
