Leslie “Les” W. Martin, 77, of Butler passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. Les was born November 15, 1948, the middle child to the late Leslie and Gloria (Pitz) Martin. Les grew up in Pitcairn Pa. and attended Gateway High School in Monroeville.
In his mid-thirties, Les decided to embark on a new career path and earned his bachelor’s and then his master’s degree in psychology at Slippery Rock University and became a licensed social worker with an emphasis on drug and alcohol rehabilitation. He started his career with Irene Stacy Community Mental Health in Butler where he was instrumental in developing the drug and alcohol program at the Butler County Prison. He then spent many years working for Butler Memorial Hospital health system both in inpatient and outpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation and mental health. He also spent time in private practice and for the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center. He continued to work after “retirement” most recently and until his passing for The Care Center in Butler.
Les loved to tinker with cars, fishing, his almost daily workouts at the YMCA, a good cup of coffee, and watching football, especially his Pittsburgh Steelers.
Aside from his beloved family, what Les was most proud of was his sobriety and his work and commitment to the Narcotics Anonymous program and more specifically the Butler Area Service Committee of Narcotics Anonymous of which he helped to lay the foundation, where he just recently celebrated 41 years clean. He still attended meetings daily where he had developed lifelong friendships has been referred to as a pillar and a giant in the Butler NA community and through the kind words of dear friends, he was a living example of what recovery, service and dedication looked like, and through his fellowship and work in the recovery field he touched the lives of countless recovering addicts who were blessed to cross his path. He loved his work in the substance abuse rehabilitation field, where he was humble and felt it was a duty and honor to give back to the program that changed his life.
Les is survived by his wife of 37 years, Cathy (Gibson) Martin; his children, Lisa (Rich) Martin Decenzo, Christy Martin, and their mother Linda Schiffer Martin, Rachel (Paul) Martin Kotek, Ben (Dráel) Martin, Michael (Devon) Martin and granddaughter, Iris Kotek. Also survived by his two sisters, Gloria (Ken) Stack and Cindy (Rocky) Stull. Also, many nieces, nephews, and brothers and sisters in law.
Family and friends will be received on Sunday, December 7, 2025, from 2-5 PM at SPENCER D. GEIBEL FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, 140 NEW CASTLE RD. BUTLER, PA 16001. WWW.SPENCERDGEIBEL.COM. A prayer service and a non-sanctioned recovery gathering will immediately follow in the funeral home, where all can share stories and gratitude of Les.