Ronald E. Martell

Martell, Ronald Eugene July 31, 1936 – February 25, 2019 Ron Martell passed away on Monday, February 25th surrounded by his loving family. He died of a combination of pneumonia and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is preceded in death by his parents Pearl Elsie (Wester), and Michael Joseph Martell, Sr. and by his brother Michael Jr. He is survived by his wife, Saundra, his daughter Judy Day & her husband David, and by his children Tom and Laura. Ron graduated from Minneapolis Roosevelt High School in 1954, and attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with honors from the U of M law school in 1960. He practiced law for more than 50 years, generally in the fields of construction contracts, surety law and general litigation. He was one of the nation’s leading construction law practitioners, arbitrators, and mediators. Ron was a founding fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL) and helped found the Minnesota chapter of the American Board of Trial Attorneys (ABOTA). Ron enjoyed fishing and nature photography, as well as researching and writing history. Two of his nature photographs appeared as cover photos for “Bench & Bar” magazine. His book, Showdown in the Pacific War, Nimitz and Yamamoto was published in 2015. He was a devoted Golden Gopher athletics fan. He loved being at his home on Blackwater Lake near Longville, MN, where he kept an extensive list of birds he had seen there over nearly 50 years.