Eric R. Martin
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1970 – 1993
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Asian
- Biography
Eric Roque Martin was born on July 15, 1927, in Santa Ana, Philippines.1 By 1950, he married his wife, Cynthia, in Middlesex, England.2 Martin served as a steward in the U.S. Navy during the Korean and Vietnam Wars; navy stewards were responsible for serving officers, cleaning state rooms, and assisting cooks in the galley.3
The Martins later relocated to the United States because by 1970, he had joined the White House Kitchen Staff as an assistant to Pastry Chef Heinz Bender.4 There, Martin helped with the preparation of elaborate desserts for White House events including State Dinners, receptions, and the 1971 wedding of First Daughter Tricia Nixon. Martin was later promoted to cook at the White House and retired from that position in 1993.5
Eric Martin passed away on January 9, 2019, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.6
- “Birthdays,” Undated, folder: folder “Birthdays (Residence Staff),” box 29, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0018/81556614.pdf; “Eric R. Martin,” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/163006604/person/402358392339/facts?_phsrc=GAH2462&_phstart=successSource; “Eric R. Martin,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196722452/eric-roque-martin.
- Eric R Martin in England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 5f; Page: 751, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8753/records/68349456?tid=163006604&pid=402358392339&ssrc=pt.
- According to the Bureau of Naval Personnel: “President William McKinley signed an executive order in 1901 allowing the Navy to enlist 500 Filipinos as part of the insular force. Secretary of the Navy John D. Long signed General Order No. 40, 8 April 1901, promulgating the executive order. Prior to 1946, Filipinos were generally assigned to steward duties.” See “Filipinos in the United States Navy,” Naval History and Heritage Command, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/f/filipinos-in-the-united-states-navy.html; “Eric R. Martin,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196722452/eric-roque-martin.
- White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026; Untitled Staff List, April 1970, Collection: White House Usher’s Office; Series: Rex Scouten’s Subject File; Folder: Residence Employees; Container 5, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.
- White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026.
- “Eric R. Martin,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196722452/eric-roque-martin; “Eric Martin,” Legacy, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/eric-martin-obituary?id=1773061.
- Birthplace
- Santa Ana, Philippines
- Burial Place
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.