The Passing Of Marty Fitzhenry...update 1-2-2020

I'm heartbroken to hear that Marty is no longer with us. His influence on this hobby will outlive us all and I am grateful that this forum will exist as an archive for his wisdom. Marty, while we only met in person once or twice, played a large role in getting me hooked on this hobby. In my younger years when I was building a layout I looked to pictures and videos of Marty's creation for inspiration. I dreamed of one day getting to see the layout in person, but I think now that day will never come. Marty's layout inspired me to build a catenary system, for one of many pieces of influence. The hobby has lost a true legend today, may God rest his soul. Highball to Heaven Marty. 

Dotty, thank you for the updates on your husband's health. God bless you and I give you my sincerest condolences in this hard time. 

The attached video shows an MTH GS4 Marty sold me at my first York show. Im running it today as a tribute to him. 

Truly said news! Marty you are on our prayers and may you rest in piece. Dotty we are sorry for your loss of a wonderful man that was by your side. May God bless you both.

Very sad news. Condolences to Dotty, family and his many friends.

My deepest condolences to Marty's family. RIP

Just heard this. Wow. My deepest condolences to his family. Marty God speed to heaven you will be dearly missed.

Dotty texted me with the news about 3:15PM...  Although this was expected the sense of loss personally and to our hobby is really great... As one who was invited to sign the wall in his layout room, and very grateful for the honor,  I will miss our conversations about (mostly) model train related matters, being a great friend and for repairing my trains...   I will remember our lunches at Chilis in Dedham when that was operating and he and Dotty introducing me to other restaurants in the Dedham area...  But the train room visits and conversations will always be in my mind...

While writing this I realized that we (the hobby community) have now lost both Marty and Barry within a year...  They will certainly be missed for their knowledge and expertise within our hobby...

 Very sad news. Marty spent a good part of his life building a world class train room and sharing it with his friends. Which he had many. With the stories you read about layouts being dismantled and trains sold off. It’s good to read that Dotty and Marty’s grandson Dean will keep Marty’s legacy intact. I’m sure every time trains are running. Marty will have a smile on his face watching from above.

With a sad heart I pray, Dear Lord take our beloved friend and bother. Let him still have trains to run and company with Barry. Thanks for the memories, great times, repairs and upgrades you did for me and most of all for loving this hobby enough to care about all us little people. You are missed already but I will not forget nor shall the train world here on earth.

Prayers offered, again, for Marty, Dottie and Family and my condolences for your loss.

For those of us here, Marty was one of the linchpins of this extended forum family by his tireless and patient assistance offered here thousands of times for all whom he could assist. 

So very sorry to hear. Marty and his family are in out thoughts and prayers.

We are a tight knit group and I feel like we have lost a part of us. Marty was part of our introduction to great 3 rail layouts back in the 1980's. As part of the early TM series, Marty was an inspiration to those of us who had barely put the pencil to paper in the planning of our layouts. Who could forget the wonderful pictures of Marty's South Street Station. It was indeed a pleasure to get to know Marty. We had planned a visit that we unfortunately had to postpone because of his medical setback.

Dottie, our thoughts and prayers are with you and all of Marty's family.

Marty, Godspeed my friend. You will truly be missed.

To say this is sad news is an understatement. Marty was a great man and a great friend. My heart felt condolences to Dotty and his family.  Rest in piece my friend. 

Very sad news indeed, may God bless Marty and comfort Dottie.

JohnB

RIP Marty

Dotty, you and Marty’s family will continue in my prayers for as long as needed.

Brad

Marty was a great human being, a kind friend, a giant in the industry, always answering question, helping me and others solve problems no matter how simple or complicated. A true gentleman and scholar. He will be missed.

Rest in peace.

Dotty, you are in our prayers and thoughts.

Kevin

Rest In Peace Marty!  It was great knowing you and hope to see Dottie at York.

Side Rod. (Carl)

very sorry to hear this prayers for family

Very sad. I never met Marty and he never met me, but when I posted a question on the forum he sent me an email with his phone number and told me I could call him if I wanted to. I did and he truly went the extra mile to help me out. I knew then he was a special guy. I don’t remember my question but I’ll never forget Marty.  Rest I peace.

R.I.P. Marty. I am positive God will enjoy your company.

My condolences to both Dotty and Marty`s family. I first met Marty through several mutual friends at the York Show (about ten years ago). Marty & Dotty joined us a couple of times during some of the running sessions I had at my fathers house in New Hampshire. I remember Marty being impressed the with operation of the layout, being able to run multiple trains at once (command and conventional). Marty and my father also had the mutual interest in cars (particularly Corvettes).

Rest in Peace Marty! Til we meet again sometime and run trains.

While I never had the good fortune of meeting Marty he'd responded to my threads on numerous occasions on this forum and for that I'll always be thankful. My thoughts and prayers go out to you, Dotty, and other family members 

Godspeed to you, Marty, disembarking from your worldly journey and embarking on the your most glorious journey of all.

Dotty, our sincerest condolences. We where so lucky to know him, learn from him and above all, laugh with him! We're glad he is finally at peace and out of pain.

Bill and Patrice

Ms. Dottie, I am at a loss for words. Since I knew Marty and yourself only when I was at the York Shows, Marty was always an inspiration to me with his words of wisdom.

Marty will definitely be missed as his kindness and generous spirit was always there for anyone who needed his help. A true gentleman and scholar, and a great friend.

In his passing, let us all remember the best for Marty as he has finally made it to the Eternal Station where we all pray to be when our time comes. Rest In Peace, My Good Friend.

Lastly, Ms. Dotty, you are in my prayers and thoughts and my sincerest condolences to you.

Marty, my friend, rest in peace. Dotty, God bless you for taking care of him the way that you did.

Gerry

I'm very sorry to read this. I know we were all hoping against this and praying that he would pull through. This hobby has a big hole in it. My sincere condolences to Dottie and the rest of Marty's family.  God Speed, Marty, you will (are  already are) missed.

Chris

Lehigh Valley Hi Railers

I will cherish the locomotive Marty helped me fix......it will remain with me for the rest of my days, as he is with many of us, he will be with me, by my side whenever I run it, and thanks to Marty’s help the sounds echo through the house, letting me know he’s here with me.....Thank you Marty!....the track is clear, grab the throttle my friend.......Pat

Prayers for MARTYs family and for you DOTTY.  May he Rest In Peace.

The Train has left the station. God bless Marty, Dotty and all of his family. He will be forever be remembered as the great person that he was.

Forest

Sorry to hear about the passing of Marty Fitzhenry.I will always cherish the times I got to interact with him whether it was at the York or Trainstock meets.It was always a pleasure to talk model railroading with him.My thoughts and prayers go out to Dotty and his loved ones at this sad time.RIP Marty.

Rest in Peace Marty. 

Life is short, like a drop of water in an ocean, but the greatness of a person is measured by all the love poured out through those they touch.  Marty, may you rest in peace. 

This thread is all the evidence one needs to know the type of person Marty was.  This is tough to take. You will be missed.

-Greg

My thoughts and prayers to Dotty and Marty's family.  Marty was a great embassador of this hobby.

I never know what to write or say at times like this,

God bless Marty and family

The rails of our community are less shiny tonight. 

Dottie, feel the warm embrace of everyone here - may it give you some comfort.

Our deepest sympathies.

Paul & MJ

So glad Marty doesn't have to live in misery anymore. Dotty not enough can be said for what you've gone through I hope you have a blessed 2020. And to the rest of Marty's friends and family I'm sorry for your loss.

RIP Marty never got to know him but he was a very well liked person. May he be playing with the biggest train layout in the sky.

It’s truly a sad day. I know of 2 people who have transitioned over today but to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. My condolences to Mrs Dotty and his entire family.  The next time I see him, I’ll make sure I make his acquaintance. 

All of us Muffins are very sorry to read this. We will miss this swell guy. Thank you, Dottie for all you've done. Marty, we will see you again on the other side.

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Dotty contacted me about 30 minutes ago with the sad news that Marty passed away.  I will update the title of this thread with that message.  This is a very sad time.....  The OGR family sends our heartfelt condolences to Dotty and Marty's family.....we will certainly miss him.....

I didn't have the privilege of knowing Marty,but gained  inspiration through his knowledge and enthusiasm, as many of us did. May he rest well.

Thoughts and prayers to everyone Marty touched. RIP Marty.

Very sad news...my condolences to Dotty and Marty's entire family.  He was a giant in this hobby.  May he rest in peace!!

RIP Marty, and peace be with Dottie, and the whole family.

The hobby has lost a very decent guy who will be remembered as a good will ambassador that touched the lives of many. Our sincerest heartfelt sympathy to Dotty and the Fitzhenry family for their loss. Marty is now with our Lord and savior where he has been resurrected to enjoy everlasting life in heaven.  One day we will meet again my friend.

A really fine person and a pillar of our hobby.  Marty will be missed by everyone who had the honor of knowing him.

God bless

For Marty and Dotty:

We love you 3000 and Excelsior!!!

I am so sorry to here this.  My deepest condolences and prayers go to Dotty and family.

Norm Rish

May he rest in peace.  He was a good man.

There is not much more I can add.

Please consider this....

That Marty can now observe, pain free, all of the appreciation we have for his friendship and wisdom.  That he can sit back, smile, and say "Wow, it was worth the effort; I really did make a difference; you guys are all very welcome."

Got the text from Dotty this afternoon that I didn't want to receive.Been down in the dumps for the last few weeks in anticipation of this. Couldn't help but think about Marty a lot lately and even more as I read these wonderful tributes. I loved my time and conversations with him, Dotty and grandson Dean at his house, Olive Garden, York, train shows, etc. He always gave more than he received and was truly the "magic light bulb" for many of us. I feel as though we have lost one of the grand ambassadors of the hobby and a link to the Golden Age of O gauge railroading. One of these days I'll go run all the engines that he fixed for me. I just don't think it will be quite as much fun as before. My love and gratitude to Dotty and Dean for all you did for Marty.

Ed Kazarian

I cannot say that I had the pleasure of meeting Marty in person. However, I can say that he helped me more than once, and made me feel like we were old friends. 

I had just watched one of the TM books videos the other day of his layout. You could tell in his voice how much he loved the hobby and how humble he was. I am sorry he had to suffer, but glad he is out of pain now. My thoughts and prayers are with Dottie, family, and all of his friends. So sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,

Joe Gozzo

God speed, Marty. Thoughts and prayers for all.

Very sorry to hear this sad news, our sincere condolences to Dotty and Marty's family.

We are saddened by Marty’s passing. We ask the lord to comfort and hold Marty close to his heart . We ask and pray that he will grant Dotty and all that Marty loved the courage and strength to meet this challenge. 

Not to get too philosophical, but as one who only knew Marty through the forum, this proves one thing.  George Bailey in "it's a wonderful life" was correct.  One measure of a life is the impact and influence on the lives of others. It appears Marty very much cleared this hurdle.

So sorry to hear of Marty's untimely departure from this earth, it is with sadden to hear this, but also realize he is no longer suffering, and in a better place. May the lord bless Marty and all who knew him. 

God bless him and those who loved him dearly.

I wish I had gotten a chance to really know him instead of saying "hi Marty, wow it's really crowded here are there any seats" at Quaker Steak & Lube during October's York 2018. Marty quickly pointed me to an open seat.

I am fortunate to know some really good friends that knew him really well and to hear some stories. My heart goes out to those friends who grieve for their brother in railroading.

May we all take comfort that he is no longer suffering, tip our hats to him, and drink to him.

Highball, Marty. Safe trip and peace at last for him, and comfort to all his people.

Free at last.  Thanks be to God!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

May our merciful God empower Dottie who must now go on alone.  No amount of preparation or planning could possibly be enough.  Prayers ascend for peace and strength for the days ahead.  Let's hope that she continues with her interest in railroads and remains current here with us, her 1:48 family.  May the peace of the Lord, which passeth all understanding, be with you, Dottie, now and forever.  Amen.

Peace be with Marty's family and friends.  I will cherish the wisdom that Marty shared with me and us all.  God bless. 

Our deepest condolences to The family. He will truly be missed. 

Very sorry to read this sad news. Rest in peace Marty.  My sincere condolences to Dottie and Marty's entire family.  We will all miss him on this forum.

Karl

I had the honor to have signed Marty's  wall of fame. I will never forget that. I am so sorry to have heard the bad news this afternoon. Stay strong Dotty, I will miss him greatly. Ed & Lisa.

This is sad news but Marty is at rest now. Dotty my prayers and best wishes going out to you and all of Marty's family and friends.

Rest in peace buddy.

Mario Evangelista

We all lost a great ambassador today in this hobby who will be missed for years to come. We were football foes from around August to January every year but still good friends for every day of the year. I guess Dottie will take up where Marty left at in harassing me about my football team. I am surely going to miss those Sunday afternoon texts from him during football games.

Thank you Don Masso for posting this picture. I was not aware of this one.

3 years or so ago, Marty posted a Lionel Santa Fe Heavyweight StationSounds car for sale, on the OGR For Sale Forum, and I was lucky and he sold it to me. It’s still new in the box on my shelf in my train room. He was fun to work with, I’ll always think of him when I see the car, and one day I’ll display the car. My prayers to Dotty and all of their family. It’s very comforting to see all of the above testimonials, he truly was a one of a kind guy, a fantastic ambassador of this great hobby, model railroading. 

scale rail posted:

I have no words...Please watch and think of the wonderful times...Don

Don,

The video brought tears to my eyes. A great ambassador, a good friend, and a football foe/friend has left the train station. I will always remember his reaction when he received that home model in Alex's basement. He was genuinely surprised and overwhelmed with emotion!

We’ve lost a good man. One of the nicest I’ve met. RIP, Marty. We’ll miss you! 
Dottie, accept my condolences for your loss.

Sorry to hear the sad news.

Marty was one of the Great Ambassadors to this hobby. He will live on throughout the model railroading community.

These are two pieces I have and will always think of Marty. The first is a tinplate box car I painted to bring to Trainstock one year to run as well as a friendly ribbing for the guys at the club. The second I bought from Marty that Dotty had started to refinish but didn’t have the time to finish.   I stripped it all down and brought it back to its former glory. They have a special spot in my train room. 

I had the privilege of singing his wall. RIP my friend.

Jim D

RIP Marty. One of the true greats of this hobby. He will be missed. 

Dear friends:

It's been 7 hours since Dotty texted me the message of Marty's passing. It has been a time for reflexion.

When I told my youngest daughter the news she reminded me that she had purchased her first car from Marty either in 1990 and 1991 and at that time I had told her she was buying the car from my good friend.  Simple calculations show that I've known Marty for 30 years or even a bit more.

How has the time passed so quickly?  I can still remember bringing over some of my Hornby trains to run at his house and then somehow running over the trains in their flimsy container.  Several of the lithographed coaches were flattened.  But, Marty somehow brought them back to life with his magic.

Or how about when he built my first real layout to replace the strictly amateur job I had endured for about 10 years.  The new layout featured Marty's trademark --tinplate track on cork roadbed, on homosote (spelling??), on plywood, all supported on  L shaped girders.  I loved it, but Marty was disappointed, because I refused to make the move to DCS or TMCC.  

So here I am 30 years later. Many of my toy train friends are gone --Jim Storer, Mike Cann, Tom Browne, Jerry Kratochvil, Jim McClellan, Eberhard Leuthke, Richard Tesero, and Roger Somers. And now Martin Fitzhenry. I miss them all.

In the Hebrew tradition we have a prayer that says Blessed Art Thou O Lord our God who gives life to the dead. Marty will watch over us and we will meet again.

Josie and I offer our sincere condolences to Dotty and the Fitzhenry family.

Lew Schneider

 Dottie, so sorry for your loss, i never met Marty in person but by way of the forum, he was gracious enough to walk me through a couple of problems i was having with my layout, may he rest in peace and the peace of the good Lord above be with you and your family, God bless, Sandy and Phil

Marty was such a wonderful welcoming person.

RIP my friend 

Ted, when I was cutting this short video, I to had tears to my eyes. One of my bucket lists was to sign that wall. Don

Marty was a great guy to deal with here on the forums. It’s really sad to hear that he has moved on, This is a major loss to the train community. I hope he’s in a place where he can finally have the train collection and layout he has always wanted. 

RIP Marty. 

So sad. My thoughts and prayers are with you Dotty and the family. Godspeed Marty. A true gentleman.

Andy

The blue line stands sir.  Rest now. EOW 1/2/20.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...slztBkQzWWINMr7EIbtY

I did not know him, nor ever spoke with him. But after reading the many posts here, it's easy to see that he is loved and will be missed by many, many friends and his family. RIP Marty.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away" Revelation 21-4

Rusty

Jim Rawlings posted:

Our dear friend, Marty, was taken to our Lord at 2:48PM today.  I am heart broken. Your prayers of comfort and consolation for Dotty and Marty's family would be deeply appreciated. 

 God Speed and God Bless. We will miss him dearly. I will remember him from this beautiful piece that the both of you sold me from this forum.

Like Rusty, I never met Marty or had any dealings with him.  But, after reading his many post over the years I feel that I knew what type of person he was... A good and generous man.  I have been following this thread for some time now.  Every time I would read everybody's posts my eyes would tear up.  Today the tears flowed freely.  RIP Marty.

Tom

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Jim Rawlings posted:

Our dear friend, Marty, was taken to our Lord at 2:48PM today.  I am heart broken. Your prayers of comfort and consolation for Dotty and Marty's family would be deeply appreciated. 

 God Speed and God Bless. We will miss him dearly. I will remember him from this beautiful piece that the both of you sold me from this forum.

Well FWIW, At least Marty made it to the new year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDmgsV8aL9s

Condolences to his family in this difficult time.

I never knew Marty except through this forum.  But I believe Marty is already planning his new layout in Heaven with God at his shoulder.

 God Bless Him and Dotty.

scale rail posted:

Ted, when I was cutting this short video, I to had tears to my eyes. One of my bucket lists was to sign that wall. Don

And I was supposed to sign the Train America Studios sign he got from Mike. 

Lou N

Well Marty.....I never met you...but it looks like you have a lot of great friends....and that alone speaks volumes. Save me a seat...

Marty you invited me into this forum and it has made a great deal of difference to my view of our hobby.  Gods speed on your journey.  I know the conductor will take good care of you.....

My sincerest condolences.

Marty's contributions to the hobby and to this forum will be remembered always.

To his family, my sincere condolences. And to Dotty in particular, thank you for all you've done for Marty, especially during his long illness and well-fought battle. Bless you.

He's now in a place where there are only high-ball signals ahead.

Chris

Our sincere condolences, Dotty. I know Marty is beyond his suffering and now rests peacefully.

Chris and I treasured our visits with you, Marty and Ralph. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Bruce and Chris Leone

Prayers and condolences to family and friends.  He will be missed by more than you will ever know.

Godspeed to Dotty, family, friends and forum friends.  I just got active here a few years ago, and know the joy and friendship I missed, that most of you have had with Marty.  What a wonderful blessing.  My family prayers will remember the Fitzhenry family through this difficult time.

We also will pray for the health, comfort and safety to all those on the forum and their families.  God bless and here is hoping that everyone has a good healthy year.

Respectfully and in friendship,

Bryant 

he'll be sincerely missed by all never met a kinder gentler man in my life. he would help anybody with   anything . I remember I took some of my trains over to there house a few years back and we ran my challenger with  his passenger car set. stayed there 3 days and we both had a great time.in fact when I went to the bath room and went back down stairs he was running my challenger and he said I really like you're engine and it runs great. while running trains and doing some yard switching he had a siding switch that broke and I helped him fix it except he had to order parts and then fixed it later when the parts came in! one of his z4000 developed a bad throttle pot in his transformer so I replaced it for him, we made a good team working together  . we just had a lot of fun together no matter what we did or talked about.

sincerely Alan Mancus

Condolences to the Fitzhenry family.

Rest in peace Marty!

So sad to hear the news. I was privileged to speak with him a few years ago as he sold me a Lionel Milwaukee Road S1. It will continue to stay in a very honorable and proud place in my house. May he RIP. 

So sorry to hear of Marty’s passing. RIP Marty...

So sad to hear.  Marty you are always in our hearts, until we see you again.

I am at a loss for words, Marty belongs in the O-gauge "Hall of  Fame". Condolences to the Family, and Dottie ,stay strong! You did all you could.