Roy Martin “Marty” Tiefenbrunn

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Roy Martin “Marty” Tiefenbrunn of Sullivan, Missouri passed away Friday, June 15, 2018 at the age of 58 years.

Marty was born on July 24, 1959 in Rolla, Missouri to Roy Edward and Judith Kathleen (Martin) Tiefenbrunn. Raised in Sullivan, Missouri Marty was married to Donna Lynn (Sanders) Tiefenbrunn on September 19, 1981 in Springfield, MO. Born from this marriage are the three children that he considered his proudest accomplishment; sons, Matthew Ryan and wife Kaylen of Lantana, Texas, Brock Martin and wife Brittani of Grain Valley, MO and daughter, Dr. Morgan Rebecca and husband, Kris Poore.

Marty loved God and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior at the age of 13 years old. He was an active and loving member of Temple Baptist Church in Sullivan. He prayed daily that God would use him as an example to others, that people would be able to see God through him and he prayed “Change Me Lord, Make Me More Like You!”

Marty loved people and he loved to be involved in all sorts of family, church, school and civic activities. He loved sports of all kinds. For many years he was active as a player. He later coached numerous baseball, basketball, softball and soccer teams. He was a registered official with the Missouri State High School Activities Association for over 17 years. He was a former ASA district softball commissioner and umpire-in-chief. In 1987, he was selected to umpire the Men’s Major National Softball Championships. He was also selected to umpire numerous ASA regional and state championships. Marty was the past president of the Sullivan Boys Baseball Association and was the creator of the Sullivan Instructional League concept. He was a media member of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. He served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater St. Louis Fellowship of Christian Athletes Ozark Gateway region.

In 1985, Marty was elected to the Sullivan Public Schools Board of Education. He served 17 years through 2002, took a five-year break and was then re-elected and served four additional terms from 2008 – 2018 for a total of 27 years. His years of service rank him first among all Sullivan Board of Education members.

An avid reader, writer and talker, Marty loved and expressed himself well through his writing for the Sullivan Independent News, Sullivan Journal and through his publishing company, Bald Eagle Sports LLC. His role as the high school basketball play-by-play man for KTUI 102.1 FM was a role that he cherished and looked forward to each and every winter. He loved high school and college sports and forever said that he bled the Black and Gold of the Sullivan Eagles and the Missouri Tigers. A 1981 graduate of the Southwest Missouri State University, he was also a long-time fan of the now Missouri State Bears.

Although seemingly involved in a lot of activities, Marty didn’t really have a lot of hobbies outside of family, church, sports and education. He didn’t hunt, fish, do woodworking and he certainly wasn’t the handiest guy when it came to fixing things around the house. He always said if it needed to be fixed correctly then he needed to hire someone to do it. He loved talking and researching sports history and was most likely the foremost authority on high school sports history in the Four Rivers Conference area. His favorite saying was “It’s not all about me,” the first sentence in the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren and he constantly reminded each of his children, “Find something you love to do and then figure out a way to make a living doing it.” He often said he wished he had followed his own advice earlier in life but he had no regrets because he reminded himself daily of his favorite verse, Jeremiah 29: 11-13. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.”

“For those of you who didn’t know, I wrote this obituary myself because I didn’t want anyone else to mess it up. I love the time that I have had with each and every one of you over the years. Thanks for coming today, “GO EAGLES!” 

Besides his wife, children and their spouses, Marty is survived by three grandchildren, Ace Owen, Conlee Rose and Brighton Stone Tiefenbrunn; his mother and father, Roy and Judy Tiefenbrunn of Sullivan; one brother, Dr. Matthew John Tiefenbrunn and wife, Mia of St. Louis; two sisters, Tracy Clayton of Sullivan and Casey Sisney and husband Lee of Grain Valley, MO; mother-in-law, Becky Sanders of Dexter, MO; brothers and sisters-in-law, Lou Ann and Mike Galloway of Dexter, MO and Linda and Mark Garges of Cameron, MO. He is also survived by nephews, Adam, Bennett and Houston Tiefenbrunn, Cory (Emily), Chad and Chase (Andrea) Galloway, Wes (Lindsey) Garges and Jose Sisney and nieces, Nicole (Roy) Jennings, Ashley (Tom) Jackson, Lindsay, Bailey and Hollan Tiefenbrunn and Jennyfer and Sofia Sisney.

He was preceded in death by his father-in-law, Richard Sanders.

Funeral services were conducted at 11 a.m., Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at Temple Baptist Church in Sullivan, with Pastor Scott Perry officiating. Interment will be in I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Sullivan.

Visitation was held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday, June 18, 2018 at Temple Baptist Church in Sullivan.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be given to the Marty Tiefenbrunn/Sullivan Eagles scholarship fund, the Ozark Gateway Fellowship of Christian Athletes or to Project HOPE Nicaragua.

All arrangements were under the care of the Eaton Funeral Home of Sullivan and Bourbon, MO.

To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Marty Tiefenbrunn, please visit our Tribute Store.

Sullivan Independent News

Sullivan Independent News
411 Scottsdale
Sullivan, MO 63080

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Fax: 573-468-4046

 

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