November 1, 1946 – July 17, 2024

Besides my own father, my uncle Marty had the biggest influence on my life. Back in 1980 when I was just 13 years old, I witnessed Marty completing the New York City Marathon. I was an impressionable young man at the time and his accomplishment inspired me to take up running. Now, 44 years and nine marathons later, I am still running. Through the years, I would often speak with Marty over the phone and tell him about the various running adventures that I would be involved with and how he was responsible for setting me in that direction. In 2019, I completed a 50-mile trail race. Marty was so excited and amazed that I had the endurance to complete that feat in less than 12 hours. A month after that event, I became even more of an inspiration to him when I attempted to run a 100-mile race around the perimeter of four of the five boroughs of New York City. Even though I quit at mile 37, Marty was in absolute awe. I could sense a big smile on his face while we talked on the phone about my experience. Today, I am still running and it has made such a positive impact in many areas of my life.

Marty also had a life-long love, or should I say addiction, to skiing. During my college years in the late 1980s, Marty would wear me down repeatedly talking about his skiing stories to the point where I just had to experience the sport myself. Once I went skiing with him, I was hooked. Last December, I brought my son Hunter with me on a one-week ski trip to Vermont. I called Marty from Killington Mountain while we were sitting on a ski lift and explained to him what fun we were having together. My son is now hooked and is currently skiing on the most challenging slopes. I even witnessed him flying through the air after skiing off a ramp much like Marty would have done when he was younger.

When it came to traveling, Marty had a wanderlust for visiting places of natural beauty. When I was in my 20s, he would often inspire me with stories about the many national parks he visited during his cross-country journeys across America. Places such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone were described by Marty in reverential detail. Although he was not religious, his descriptions of these places were often Godly and made it seem that I would be closer to The Almighty if I visited them. Marty often encouraged me to travel cross-country which I finally did with my wife during the summer of 1999. He helped me plan that trip and told me all of the must-see places that we had to visit. We went on an 8,000-mile journey around our great country that lasted for 31 days. I called Marty while at the Grand Canyon and told him how amazing it was to be there and thanked him for his advice. I know that that phone call stayed with him for a very long time.

While Marty was an intelligent person, he lived a somewhat Forest Gumpian life. With two parents who were often working, Marty grew up on the streets of Brooklyn during his youth often playing basketball and other sports with my father and kids from around the neighborhood. In 1967, Marty was drafted by the US Army to fight in Vietnam. During the 1970s, he enjoyed living the hippie lifestyle and went to Brooklyn College. He worked various stints as a cab driver and as a photographer. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, he was a stockbroker.

During the summer of 2023, I spent Father’s Day weekend backpacking at Bear Mountain with my two children. The following day, we picked up Marty at the military home where he resided which was near our hike. We drove him to a cafe to enjoy lunch together. It was an emotional meeting and Marty appreciated my gesture to the point where he was in tears. I am glad that my children and I had a special moment with Marty while he was still alive. That was the last time that we would see him.

Marty is survived by his two children, Ryan and Danielle, and his former wife Maria.

Below are photos of Marty and his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. Photos were taken around 1968, a year after my birth in 1967. Photo credit goes to Bernie Weinstein who served with Marty during the War. Bernie credits Marty with saving his life who became his lifelong friend after they both served.