Doug Mart

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Douglas Lawrence Mart, 61, of Vermillion, SD passed away on February 24, 2024, after a courageous 3-year battle with cancer. Services will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Vermillion, SD. Visitation will begin Wednesday, February 28, 2024, from 4:30-7:30PM, with a Prayer service at 5:30PM. Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, February 29, 2024, beginning at 10:00AM. 

Doug was born on February 22, 1963, to Larry & Rosemary (Brown) Mart in Vermillion, SD. Doug lived his whole life in Vermillion, attending grade school and eventually graduating from Vermillion High School in 1981. He attended USD for 1 semester but decided that college was not for him. It was then that he threw himself into his work at Mart Marine. 

Doug maintained friendships with people from his childhood that remained close to him for his entire life. After graduating from high school, Doug enjoyed many road trips with friends to baseball & football games, snowmobile races, and skiing and snowmobiling adventures. Doug always enjoyed time with his extended family…fondly remembering camping, fishing & boating with nieces and nephews, weekend BBQs at the River and holiday celebrations together.

Doug began working at Mart Marine in the 7^th grade, first cleaning and doing odd jobs around the Shop and eventually learning everything he could about selling and repairing boats.  Doug earned all the certifications that he could, making him an expert in outboard motors!  He took over the family business in 2016, which was a dream come true for Doug who had so many ideas about ways to enhance Mart Marine.  Unfortunately, those dreams were cut short by his cancer diagnosis in 2021.  But he continued to sell boats and enjoy the long-lasting relationships he established with customers over many years.  Many of those customers called Doug a friend as they always knew he would be fair and honest in their business transactions. No boat sale made Doug happier than one that included a child who was so excited to go boating or fishing in that new boat!

Doug lived a long and exciting life as a bachelor for 52 years, but after sitting on the flooded bank of the Missouri River during the summer of 2011, he decided it was time for a change.  It was during that Christmas season that he met his future wife, Sara.  And in 2015, his life REALLY changed when he married Sara, moving her 3 children & their dog into their newly constructed home along the Missouri River!   Doug loved every inch of that property and enjoyed maintaining it. He was especially determined to keep those 2 acres looking lush with green grass! He enjoyed planting, watering, and mowing that lawn…and especially loved seeing the fruits of his labor as that green grass grew! During the winter months, nothing made Doug happier than a blazing fire in his wood stove, which his brother Dan and friend Tom made sure was always stocked with plenty of firewood for burning!

Doug’s love of boating and the outdoors began at a very young age.  He enjoyed time on the river with family & friends at Walker’s Landing and the Boat Club, where he later owned his own trailer.  Anyone who knew Doug knew that he was happiest on the Missouri River.   He loved everything about that river including day trips to Murdo’s, Rivertime or Riverboat Days, fishing during the spring, summer & fall, floating on cool summer nights, relaxing on sandbars in the heat of the summer or whipping tubes filled with screaming/laughing kids behind his boat! He was patient and encouraging as he taught many to waterski, to operate a boat, to FIX a boat, to fish, to secure a dock or to just enjoy the great outdoors.   Sara, Maggie, Gray & Gertie are 4 of those people whose lives were completely changed and enhanced by Doug sharing his love of the river with them! 

Forever grateful for having shared his life are his wife Sara; his step-children Maggie, Gray & Gertie Peterson; his mother, Rosemary Mart; siblings Jeff (Julie) Mart, Karen (Kurt) Bauermeister, Deb (Ken) Vigdal, Kathy Peckham, and Dan (Carrie) Mart; nieces & nephews Amy (Henry) Sanford, Nick (Jordynne) Mart, Tanner (Casey) Mart, Chris (Jana) Mart, William Mart, Ryan (Allie) Bauermeister, Sara (Drew) Schiltz, Kendra (Tanner) Macke, Thomas (Crystal) Vigdal, Tomalyn & Carly Peckham and Carter Mart. The children of Doug’s nieces & nephews made him especially happy; he was always grateful for the opportunities to see them at the Shop, on the river or at holiday gatherings! In addition to family, Doug will be deeply missed by his many loyal friends who have remained by his side over the years.  Doug was the best kind of friend to have…always willing to share a good laugh and a cold beer...or to offer needed boat advice.

Doug was preceded in death by his father, Larry Mart, infant brother John, and grandparents Ray & Bernice (Manning) Brown and Harold & Ruth (Nelson) Mart.

Instead of flowers, memorial gifts can be directed to the Vermillion Public School Foundation for endowed scholarships in Doug’s name.  We plan to award scholarships to students pursuing technical degree programs after high school.