‘He was so genuine’: Friends remember grandfather who died during tornado

Barry Martin was a grandfather, business owner and softball coach. So when a tornado struck Coweta County, the 56-year-old wasted no time checking on his family.

One of his daughters, Jordan, lived closed by. And shortly after midnight Friday, Martin took off to check on her, parking his truck and then walking to reach her. Martin made it to Jordan’s home, which was heavily damaged by the storm. But his family believes he had a heart attack after he made it to Jordan, who gave him CPR.

The tornado that struck the Newnan area minutes earlier made many roads impassable and delayed paramedics from reaching Martin, who died after the medical emergency.

“I’m just devastated,” a longtime friend, Douglas Bailey, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.

Bailey, a contractor, knew Martin first as the owner of Martins Millwork in Palmetto, a family business creating custom doors and windows. But Bailey said he and Martin also became friends and Martin served as a mentor over the years.

“He was just great about giving you pointers,” Bailey said. “I just gained a ton of respect for him.”

Bailey said when he needed something special for a job, Martin was the go-to man. Martin was an innovator, Bailey said, and could draw what he had pictured in his mind. The two had worked together at one point to create a unique shower window, he said.

But they would also talk about their families. Martin was the father of three, a stepfather, and a grandfather.

“He was just so genuine,” Bailey said. “He wanted to know about me. He loved his family and he loved his business and was a hard worker.”

Martin was supposed to walk Jordan down the aisle Saturday for her wedding. Instead, the family is planning a funeral. Jordan’s home was heavily damaged by the tornado, leading two longtime friends to organize a GoFundMe page to benefit the family.

Alison Owen met the Martin family while in middle school, playing softball with Jordan and sister Salena. Martin was a travel ball coach while his daughters played and attended East Coweta High School. He still supported the high school team after his children had graduated, Owen said.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

“He was willing to help anyone,” she said. “He did a lot for our community.”

Martin’s funeral is planned for Thursday at 3 p.m. at Crossroads Church in Sharpsburg. Visitation will be held that day from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, cleanup continued Monday in Coweta, where students will get an extra-long spring break after their schools were heavily damaged by the tornado.

The National Weather Service said Friday an EF4 with 170-mph winds caused extensive damage late Thursday into Friday in Coweta. It was roughly a mile wide at its widest point and was tracked on the ground for 38.9 miles.

Newnan High was among the Coweta schools with extensive damage after the storm. The entire district remained closed Monday, Superintendent Evan Horton posted online. Many schools will not reopen until April 12.

In addition to the powerful tornado that ripped through the Newnan area, it may have been tornadoes that hit Bartow and Polk counties, according to the Weather Service. On Monday and Tuesday, investigators will conduct surveys in the two northwest Georgia counties, where powerful storms roughly 12 hours apart damaged homes and other buildings.

The first storm rolled through southern Cedartown in Polk around 12:30 p.m. Then just before midnight, a storm barreled through Bartow, north of Cartersville.