Marty Brennan

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss.

Marty (WA2MVT), We will miss you, even though we didn’t get to see each other very much lately.Have known you alot of years. You will always be with use. Glad you was a ham in more ways than one. By Santa. Love Bill and Glenda

Marty, ‘Santa’, you left the world a better place than when you arrived. I can’t remember the first time I met you but it had to be when I was learning to skate and you were behind the skate counter. Over the years you became a friend and mentor to me and countless other rink rats. First as a rink rat and later as a floor guard I looked forward to talking to you. I’m sorry to say there were times when the impatience of my youth didn’t fully listen to the wisdom the old man was trying to impart. Over the years at the rink, you were the one constant. Managers, coaches and skaters came and went. But you were always there. I remember you always sitting behind the counter being like Santa keeping an eye on the rink. Somehow Marty always knew what was going to happen before it happened. After I left the rink, graduated college and started on my own, Marty was just a phone call away. We would catch up and he treated me like a son. He would always ask me how I was doing and what was going on. When I needed fatherly advice, he (rather than my own dad) was able to listen and point me in the right direction. At Christmas time, he and Karen would send me a card signed Ho-Ho Pop and Mom Karen. There was a side to Santa many people never saw. It was tough for him to watch his kids make mistakes. We’d talk about how much he cared for them yet he had to let them go. It especially pained him when some of the kids were not on speaking terms. But he knew better than to intrude when and where he was not wanted. Marty was also a hard worker. To this day, I marvel at how hard he worked. When most men were ready to retire, I received a call from Marty asking if I’d be a reference for him to work on Air Force One. Marty had a quiet pride in the work he did on that plane and watched it fly. I hope I can be as productive as Marty was as late in life as he was. Another thing some people don’t realize was his quiet intelligence. I remember how proud Marty was when he earned his Ham radio license. He wanted me to be his first contact. Marty was also smart about people. Despite all the fights his daughter Carole and I had over the years, he knew that one day we’d end up dating. Soon after I completely doused Carole with a water hose at the rink, Carole and I started dating. Marty asked me what took us so long? He knew our fighting was a cover for our feelings. Maybe Marty really was Santa, able to know who’s been good and who’s been bad. So now that Santa is in heaven you’d better be good for goodness sake! Santa, you will be missed!

I am sorry to learn of your family sorrow. The death of a loved one is difficult. If I may, I\’d like to share scripture that may help in some way. Please take a moment to read John 6:40, 44, Ps. 36:9 and Ps. 37:29.