Norman H. Martin, civil engineer

Norman H. Martin, 89, of Moorestown, a civil engineer and company president who coached blind golfers, died Wednesday, June 20, at home of complications from an infection.

Mr. Martin owned his own construction and development firm for 10 years, then for eight years was president of American Medicorp, a hospital management and development company.

He established his own company, Medifac, in 1978 and remained its president after it was acquired as the planning, architectural, and design unit of the larger Mediq Inc., a health-care services company.

After retiring as chairman of Medifac in 1993, Mr. Martin was a volunteer with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). There he befriended a fellow retired executive and golf enthusiast, Larry Ruttenberg, who was blind.

Ruttenberg encouraged Mr. Martin to become a coach for the Middle Atlantic Golf Association, lining up shots and providing direction and distance for blind golfers.

For 10 years, until 2002, Mr. Martin was president of the association, which sponsors about 40 golf outings a year.

Mr. Martin was a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Arbitration Association. He belonged to the Merchantville Country Club and the Palmira Golf Club in Bonita Springs, Fla., where he and his wife, Cynthia Lee Martin, wintered for 12 years.

Mr. Martin graduated from Germantown High School in 1941 and attended what is now Drexel University.

During World War II, he served in the Army field artillery in France, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. In 1947, after his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Drexel.

He was a vice president of a local construction company before starting his business. Over the years, he developed and owned several commercial properties.

In addition to his wife of 15 years, Mr. Martin is survived by sons Donald and Daniel. His wife of 53 years, Phyllis Mann Martin, died in 1996.

Friends may call from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, at Moorestown Memorial Home, 334 Chester Ave. A Meeting for Worship will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Moorestown Friends Meeting, 118 E. Main St. Donations may be made to the Middle Atlantic Blind Golf Association, 1674 Thayer Dr., Blue Bell, Pa. 19422.