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A couple of years ago or so, my wife was sick and I begged you guys to please prey for my lovely wife and you did it and a miracle happen and my wife is safe and sound , no more illness, she help me building my layout;  to day Marty unfortunately is very sick and I strongly believe that only a miracle will heal him therefore, I am going to beg you guys one more time to please PREY  with faith for Marty's live, believe or no, the faith moves mountains, lets prey positive from the deeps of our hearts that Marty will heal, Thanks

Dear Marty and Dotty,

On this eve of Christmass, I sit here in relative comfort, safety and good health and think on you two, whiling away the hours in hospice and cannot help but rejoice at the thought of your love, your loyalty and your companionship even in such dire circumstances.  This, of course, reminds me of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16-18:

"Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I give thanks for this forum, without which I would never have known of either of you.  Furthermore, thanks to the forum, I am made mindful of your situation every day and offer prayers for God's healing hand and the new bodies we will be given "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more."

May all the blessings of Christ be yours, today and evermore.

Churu posted:

A couple of years ago or so, my wife was sick and I begged you guys to please prey for my lovely wife and you did it and a miracle happen and my wife is safe and sound , no more illness, she help me building my layout;  to day Marty unfortunately is very sick and I strongly believe that only a miracle will heal him therefore, I am going to beg you guys one more time to please PREY  with faith for Marty's live, believe or no, the faith moves mountains, lets prey positive from the deeps of our hearts that Marty will heal, Thanks

Churu, There comes a time in everyone's life where the QUALITY of life is more important than the length of life. When the person (Marty) is suffering, and the body is tired and just can't fight the cancer and infection, the quality of life has reached rock bottom, and he doesn't want to 'get better'.  We should be PRAYING for a peaceful and pain free transition into the next world. Marty is at peace with his decision to let hospice and us see to his comfort in his last days.

May this day and forward be peaceful blessed and pain free for both of you. May God shine his light upon you both with warmth and love for we know he loves you both especially Marty for all his love he has spread not only for trains but people.  Marty Thank you for the opportunity to have met you. You ARE an inspiration! God Bless and Merry Christmas. May God's peace bless you.

Dottie,

Like I said in our phone call this past weekend, Marty was, is and will be always our role model and inspiration in this great hobby and also to being the nicest gentleman you could cross paths with in your life. We might disagree on football teams but Marty and you will always be friends. We shared a many laughs about the Jets and I took it in stride And I'm quite sure Mike did the same!

He made the right decision as this disease never ceases as I have 2 other friends fighting and I, myself having skin cancer on my nose last year. I pray for both of you for comfort and peace for those remaining days. 

 

 

Rapid Transit Holmes posted:

Dear Marty and Dotty,

On this eve of Christmass, I sit here in relative comfort, safety and good health and think on you two, whiling away the hours in hospice and cannot help but rejoice at the thought of your love, your loyalty and your companionship even in such dire circumstances.  This, of course, reminds me of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16-18:

"Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I give thanks for this forum, without which I would never have known of either of you.  Furthermore, thanks to the forum, I am made mindful of your situation every day and offer prayers for God's healing hand and the new bodies we will be given "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more."

May all the blessings of Christ be yours, today and evermore.

Thank you so very much, Rapid Transit Holmes, for saying this so beautifully.

Dottie and Marty:  God bless you both and all of your family.

Marty and Dotty. 2 of the most genuine wonderful people I have had the pleasure to meet .... in or out of the hobby.  Marty I will treasure the happy times and wonderful deals over the years. My family and I truly enjoyed our brief times together. Dotty thank you for being there then and now. You are Marty's angel.  Prayers for peace from Vince, Peggy, Vinny, and Tony.

Dotty, you and Marty are in my thoughts every day. I re-watched OGR Great Layouts the one with Marty in it and Toy Train Revue #5. You were in the Toy Train Revue video. I could tell it was taken at an earlier date. Marty is very lucky to have someone who obviously loves him but also loves his hobby. I was amazed when Marty said he started bench work in July and by December he was laying track. I wish I could have known him better. I hope he is not suffering in any way. God bless both of you. 

Dotty as a pastor I can't explain the journey you both have been through. I am praying for comfort for Marty and for God to take him Home to Jesus. I also pray for you family, May the Lord send His legions of Angles to comfort and strengthen you and your family.  We can all be thankful for Marty's life and all he did for people. I'm sure that all who knew him could see and remember his wonderful sharing life. 

 

 

 

 

Rich Melvin posted:

Marty is home now. In heaven, there is no more grief or pain. Crippled lives are whole again.

I rejoice for him as he begins his new eternal life with the Father. I will see him again some day, when the Lord calls me home.

X2, just went through this with my mother-in-law.  Sucks for us left behind but they are released from their pain.

Godspeed my friend.  I will miss our paths crossing at York and our discussions on email and the forum.  I will sound the whistles and horns tonight for you.  You were a true gentleman and a friend to all.  May you finally find peace.

Dotty I will be thinking of you and your family during this time.  Marty couldn't have had a better partner in life.  Thank you for taking care of our friend.

Last edited by MartyE

Dotty,
I am truly heartbroken I lost a great boss and mentor this way and saw him deteriorate so I know what you went through. We have all lost another great man to this awful illness so I would like you to know I will be making two donations every year to the National Cancer Society One for Marty and one for Kirk.

I will wait to see Marty again we its my time to called home.

Friends,

For many years, I  have considered Marty and Dotty my best friends in the toy train hobby, and Marty as the smartest man I knew regarding toy trains/real trains etc. All I can say is the hobby has lost a great man, and certainly one of the nicest and most helpful people on this or any other forum. With Trainstock coming up in two weeks, we at the NJ HiRailers should have a moment of silence for Marty and dedicate the day to him. He always loved going to Trainstock and was a member of the NJ  HIRailers.

Erol Gurcan   

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Very sad news. I knew Marty for approximately 17 years through the York Meets and he was one of the true icons in our hobby. He was also one of the nicest, most knowledgeable and most helpful individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He gave so much to so many of us, and never asked for anything in return. In short, he was a true gentleman. 

While Marty has left us, he will never be forgotten. He is in God's hands now...

Pat 

Its a sad day.

Marty was an institution in the O-gauge hobby. I still have the early issues of OGR and CTT that, even back then - early 1990s - featured his fantastic layout. He was always helpful on the forum and getting DCS implemented in its early days. The memories of his operating catenary system give me motivation to perhaps one day have one myself.

Unlike many people on the forum, I never had the pleasure of getting to know Marty. Thanks to all of these happy memories shared on this thread, I can certainly see what kind of a guy he was; friendly, giving and loyal. My condolences go out to Dotty, Marty's family, his many great friends and all others who are impacted by this devastating loss.

Looking forward to meeting him when my time comes.

Nick

There really is nothing I can say that has not already been said by so many of Marty's friends on this sad day. He gave of himself--continually--for this hobby and for the benefit of those who share a love for the hobby. He was a good friend to all, and will be fondly remembered for his many contributions and genuine kindness. May God's blessings be with you, Dotty, for all you have done for Marty over such a long time. He could not possibly have been in better hands.

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. 

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

 

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

SAM_3958Thank you Don Masso for posting this picture. I was not aware of this one.

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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. 

Last edited by leapinlarry

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. 

F6E704C0-9BF4-4CA7-AD7A-53CFA451C54A

DEE1C9E0-3FD6-4ACA-B2CD-EF4EBD1AC4C3

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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

 

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.

3rd-Rail RDC2l0013rd-Rail RDC2l003

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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.

3rd-Rail RDC2l0013rd-Rail RDC2l003

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

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

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

 

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