Lafourche tax assessor dead at 58

Michael Hal Martin, tax assessor of Lafourche Parish since 2001, died March 4 at Terrebonne General Medical Center. He was 58.

A lifelong resident of Galliano, Martin is remembered for his selfless persona more than his politics, was said to possess humility for his role in the Assessor’s Office and the responsibility it carried and was envied as someone who lived his life exactly how he wanted to live it while watching his son enter adulthood and begin to do the same.

“I was kind of taken aback that there were really genuinely good people in politics,” said Deputy Assessor Wendy Thibodeaux, whom Martin hired three months after he took office in 2001, of her first impression. “Impressed, but taken aback.”

Martin is survived by Tammy Lathrop Martin, his wife of 33 years, and Hal Michael Martin, his son. Martin is also survived by parents Leroy and Dot, brother Perry, and sister Lisa. Leroy was Lafourche’s tax assessor for 16 years prior to Mike’s election.

Perry Martin, who delivered the eulogy at Mike’s funeral last week, remembered his brother as the “rock” of the Martin family, someone who perpetually placed others before himself and as the proud father of a son who achieved his dream of racing stock cars professionally.

“He was the son that our family’s world revolved around,” Perry said. “He was one of those guys who always did the right thing.”

Perry knew Mike liked to help others with their problems, particularly from first-hand experiences but also from anecdotes. For a cash-strapped client, Mike lawyered in exchange for ice chests filled with shrimp. He welcomed people to unburden themselves and offered advice when it was solicited, even if at the moment Mike was enjoying a private lunch with his brother.

But what Perry learned last week was the extent to which Mike aided others, when countless people approached him at memorial services, each armed with condolences and a story of how Mike made their lives better.

“Mike spent his whole life solving and helping people with their problems,” Perry said. “I don’t think we’re ever going to know how many people Michael touched or how many lives Mike enhanced. … The world is a lesser place without him, but everybody is so much more because of him.”

Tammy was Mike’s childhood sweetheart, Perry said.

“I admired the fact that his family was so tight,” Perry said. “Mike went out of his way for his family. He was one of those rare, rare creatures that … typically when you talk about the Heart of America, Mike was the Heart of America.”

The family is unsure what caused Martin to lose consciousness a week before his death.

A former assistant district attorney, Martin previously served as president of the Lafourche Parish Bar Association, Rotary Club, Lafourche Chamber and Louisiana Assessors’ Association. He is a former co-chairman of the American Cancer Society and member of the Knights of Columbus, Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and other organizations.

Family members asked that donations be made in Martin’s name to LOPA in lieu of flowers. Martin twice was the recipient of a kidney transplant.

During his more than 13-year tenure, the assessor’s office became a sort of home away from home, Thibodeaux said.

“He always made sure everyone was taken care of, including the public, and all of his employees. Words can’t describe how great he was,” Thibodeaux said. “It’s like a family over here, and we lost a great friend.”

Thibodeaux’s surname left her as a frequent target of another of Martin’s defining qualities – his affinity for intentionally corny jokes.

“He loved corny jokes,” she said. “Of course, I got the encyclopedia of all Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes. Every time he heard one, he would say it. And when I first started working here, he would say these off-the-wall jokes. I was like, ‘Where in the world do you get this jokes from?’ He opened up his bottom drawer, and he pulled out 1,001 Corny Joke Book. I put that next to his coffin Friday.”

Tax assessors are elected parishwide, and the offices are mandated by the state Constitution. An assessor’s role is not to levy taxes, but to set fair-market appraisals of property. Assessments are used to calculate due taxes associated with millages approved by voters.

Thibodeaux, deputy assessor since 2006, will run the assessor’s office until a replacement is elected, per state law. She is not barred from qualifying in the special election.

Lafourche Parish Government is required to schedule the election, according to Meg Casper, spokeswoman with the Secretary of State’s office.

Lafourche Council Chairman Daniel Lorraine said the election would likely be scheduled on the open primary Congressional ballot on Nov. 4, but added the parish council, as a whole, would ultimately decide the date.

Mike Martin