Grant Martinsen

Grant Linnebach Martinsen

April 22, 1945 – March 2, 2026

Grant Linnebach Martinsen, 80, died at home in Grants Pass on March 2, 2026, following a battle with ALS. Born in Salt Lake City, Grant grew up in Burley, Idaho, where he met his wife of 58 years, Sharon Hansen. His passion for sports took him to Utah State on a football scholarship and eventually to the 1967 NFL draft. Though selected by the Buffalo Bills, Grant chose to stay closer to home and signed with the BC Lions, beginning a journey that eventually led him to a long career of teaching and coaching.

A single steelhead caught while visiting his brother, Dave, was all it took to convince Grant that Oregon needed to be home. He and Sharon moved to Grants Pass in 1971, where he began a 26-year career at Grants Pass High School as a science teacher and a coach for both track and football. His tenure included many seasons as the head football coach for the Cavemen. Known as a disciplined coach with a strategic mind and a teacher’s heart, Grant treated everyone with the same respect — from the star senior quarterback to the nervous freshman, he brought out the best in people. Even after retiring in 1997, he remained a loyal Caveman and a big fan of youth sports.

Grant was an avid outdoorsman and he passed on this love to his son and grandsons. Watching him fish was a sight to behold—the way he’d work his cast while scaling boulders—and on the chukar hill with his bird dog, he was as nimble as a mountain goat. Whenever he had the opportunity, he’d be off fishing or hunting, famously setting a world record for the largest salmon ever caught on a fly.

ALS took a lot from Grant, but it never took his kindness or his deep love for family and friends. He sincerely appreciated those around him, and even until the end, expressed his gratitude regularly. A lifelong teacher, his lessons remain with us.

Grant is survived by his loving wife, Sharon; his three children, Kim Hull, Keri Bryant, and Travis Martinsen; two siblings; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many dear friends spanning a lifetime.

A celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, March 20, 2026 at the Hull & Hull Directors.