Valentine Museum honors late director Bill Martin with memorial gathering

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Family, friends and Richmonders gathered at the Valentine Museum to honor the life and legacy of late longtime director Bill Martin.

More than a month ago, the 71-year-old was hit and killed by a car downtown, leaving many heartbroken.

On Saturday, the Valentine Museum hosted an open house as a final goodbye to Martin. The museum was packed with people who came not only to look at the art but also to share memories of the late director and the impact he had on so many people’s lives.

Attendees wrote down their favorite memories, remembered some of his sayings, and visited a spot where people could say their final goodbye and thank Bill Martin for the legacy he left behind.

There were people from all walks of life who had been touched by Martin one way or another.

Artist Michael-Birch Pierce attended and said Bill was one of their best friends and first supporters of their artwork in Richmond.

“He planned my entire bachelor party. He was there for me at so many different points of my life, always showing up at my house with disco music blaring, ready to go out for a drink or a dinner. And he just, he meant the world to me and I’m devastated that he’s gone and just wanted to spend a day with other people who loved him,” Pierce said.

V. Tanaia Hines said she met Bill in 2019 when she first moved here to fill a principal position. She said Bill gave the new hires a tour that was unforgettable, and her school later went on to partner with the Valentine several times in the last couple of years.

“His heart was big. And even if you only knew him just a little bit, you could see it in just his first meeting with him that his heart was just so big and he wanted you to, you know, feel his love just like, you know, you’ve known him for years,” Hines said.

Hines said Martin was a community leader many could learn from.

“Always learning and always talking to people. Bill talked to everybody. And when you’re talking to a variety of people, you’re learning different walks of life and you’re getting different perspectives and being able to, I guess, get more insights and develop opinions that are more productive for where we need to go and where we want to be,” Hines said.

Meg Hughes with the Valentine Museum said sharing this moment with the people Martin touched has reignited his presence within the museum.

“You can feel an absence in the museum. So having it filled with so many people is really heartwarming. And we wonder what he would think of today. He’d probably love the story collecting activities, but he would probably hate having all the focus on him, but sorry, today is the day that we do focus on you,” Hughes said.

Hughes added that in February, they will be back to their normally scheduled program with the full public presence as Bill would want.