The emotions take over when daughter Lisa is asked what she will remember about her dad and highly-respected Cotton Tree business stalwart Norm Martin.
“Probably the thing I’m struggling with the most is, my dad was my biggest supporter,” Lisa said, battling sudden tears and a faltering voice.
“He was just my biggest supporter. He was always there for me and my daughter. Always.
“He would drop everything to be there for me and my daughter.”
This is the family side to Norm Martin few people knew. But it is the one he cherished most in a long and illustrious life that will be celebrated at his funeral service today.
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The founder of Norm Martin Real Estate in Sixth Avenue at Cotton Tree passed away last week at age 85 – just a month shy of what would have been his 86th birthday.
Norm was born in Lismore, in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region, in 1937 – one of five children in the family.
They later moved to nearby Keerrong, before Norm headed to Wollongong as a teenager and played for the local rugby league club.
It was in that Illawarra town that he met Janice. They married in 1961 and had two daughters, Kerrie and Lisa.
Lisa describes the “big, incredible life” Norm led – starting with creating a removallist business in Wollongong.
During a stint with the family in Papua New Guinea, he helped “build communities” through construction of roads, an airstrip, tourist lodge and tennis courts.
After putting down roots in Maroochydore, he and Janice owned and operated a corner store.
Moving on to his own real estate business, Norm laid the groundwork for others to transform development sites into retail and hospitality ventures, commercial offices and residential high-rises – Rovera Plaza and The Cosmopolitan among them.
His days were full, rubbing shoulders with property developers seeking just the right piece of land for their vision, and enjoying the satisfaction of making countless buyers’ and sellers’ dreams come true.
“My dad had an amazing life. He was here for around 40 years and he saw a lot of changes,” Lisa said.
“Cotton Tee had a special place in his heart. He just loved this area.
“(Norm and wife Janice) decided, after moving from New Guinea to Sydney, that they didn’t like the busy lifestyle and they wanted something that was more closer to the sort of lifestyle they had in New Guinea with the beaches and the outdoor areas.
“They got in the car and drove north and then came here and thought ‘Wow. This is it’. They loved it here.”
The pride is evident as she talks about her dad the real estate agent – how he championed Maroochydore and played a role in shaping the strong coastal community over four decades.
Norm lived, worked and played in Cotton Tree, but at the end of every day, all he wanted to do was go home to his family.
Lisa took over the legacy of the family business after his retirement eight years ago.
Now, Norm Martin Real Estate is in the hands of the second and third generation of the family, with Lisa as principal, joined by her daughter Courtney.
As the business notches up almost three decades in sales, residential and holiday letting and commercial leasing, both women love their work despite neither having an interest in real estate in the beginning.
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Lisa had a background in banking, and Courtney is a qualified dietitian and nutritionist.
“I said to my dad: ‘I’m not getting into real estate. People don’t like real estate agents. I’m not doing that’,” Lisa laughed.
“But I went in to help Dad and then Courtney went in to help me.”
Both knew they were filling big shoes.
Norm was well-respected not only because of his extensive knowledge of the property industry and local area, but also for his easy-going and friendly nature.
“Dad was very smart. He could turn his hand at anything. He was smart with the business here but he was just a lovely man,” Lisa said.
“Dad had time for everybody. Dad would be sitting on the edge of the garden bed in Cotton Tree, having a cigarette and coffee, and he would talk to anybody.
“He was a really good guy. We’ve even had messages (of condolence) from tenants that knew him because he was that sort of a person.
“Dad didn’t have a snobby bone in his body. He was a really grounded person. He was a very good judge of character and just a good, down-to-earth guy.
“He’d be dressed up in his beautiful clothes, looking a million dollars during the day, and then he’d get home and be in his daggy little shorts – he was comfortable in both.”
He is survived by daughters Lisa and Kerrie, and grandchildren Courtney, Justin and Theresa.
Norm’s funeral service will be held today at 10am at Buderim Crematorium and Memorial Gardens.
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