Hundreds paid tribute to former Valentine Museum director Bill Martin
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Saturday was marked as a day of remembrance as hundreds gathered at Richmond's Valentine Museum to honor its late director, Bill Martin.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, more than 700 people leaned on each other while some shed tears as they paid a visit to the Valentine Museum to remember Bill Martin. Visitors documented their memories by writing them on cards for a collage, participating in a video diary submission or both.
After serving as director for more than 30 years, Martin was hit by a car while crossing E. Broad Street in downtown Richmond on Dec. 27, 2025, mere blocks away from the museum. He died the next day.
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
Ashley Singleton prepares to be interviewed for the Valentine's video diary remembrance of longtime Valentine director Bill Martin. The event production and promotions company UnlockingRVA is partnering with the museum to produce it. (Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
"He was notorious for just popping in your office and kind of going, 'What are you working on?' He would always have a mischievous grin on his face," said Valentine Museum Acting Director Meg Hughes, who worked alongside Martin for more than 20 years." We're creating a huge collage of those stories to show just how many people he impacted over the decades."
Visitors wrote on the collage cards some of Martin's frequently echoed signature expressions known as "Bill-isms" such as, "How do we know whether it is true?" after asking a thought-provoking question.
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
Others wrote on the inside of specially prepared fortune cookies, "Please leave by 9," which had been coined from his dinner parties.
Another one of his phrases, "you can't do history and sit on the sidelines," was printed on cardstock keepsakes for the guests. Which was designed and printed by the Richmond art center, Studio Two Three, and has become a beacon for his friends and colleagues to hold dear forever.
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
(Photo: Ben Walls/8News)
"He told me to keep moving and don't stand still. He told me 'no matter what other people said about me, I have a legacy to uphold and share to as many people that will listen,'" Ashley Singleton said, who was one of Martin's colleagues.
Valentine staff members will save and archive all the mementos from Saturday's memorial.
