Martin Joseph Kendrick, 88, of Aptos, California, passed from this life on February 19, 2015.
Born May 9, 1926 in New York City to Emma Arney Kendrick and Martin John Kendrick, Marty was raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York and attended local schools. In 1944 he joined the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Mechanic and was stationed at the Hutchinson, Kansas Naval Air Station until the end of World War II.
After the war, Marty — an avid photographer — was employed by Pathe News as an assistant cameraman for their newsreel division, and later became a Director before leaving the company in 1958.
That same year he married the love of his life, Carol Brooks of Long Beach, California, whom he had met through mutual friends while they were both living and working in New York City. Carol was a flight attendant with Pan American Airways, and the group of coworkers, housemates, fellow flight attendants and pilots they knew from that time remained lifelong friends. Carol predeceased him in 2005.
During the 1960’s Marty joined the Hearst Corporation as a Director in their Screen News Digest division, and remained with Hearst until his retirement in 1985.
A natural athlete and avid sports fan, Marty played organized baseball and basketball in his youth, and coached youth hockey for 10 years during the 1960s and 70s in New Jersey, where he and Carol raised their two daughters.
Marty loved golf, playing regularly in a senior golf league and working as a volunteer Ranger at Seascape Golf Club in Aptos, California, where he and Carol retired in 1989.
He was a frequent visitor to Ridgefield, and enjoyed visits to Ballard Park with his grandchildren, attending their soccer, lacrosse and hockey games, the annual Memorial Day Parade, and treating the family to Mr. Shane’s ice cream.
In addition to his daughters Kerry Christensen, of Ridgefield and Kristen Willig, of Hillsborough, California, Marty is survived by his six beloved grandchildren: Emily, Brooks and Claire Willig, and Brita, Jack and Will Christensen.
A Service celebrating Marty’s life is planned for May 9th at 11 am at the First Congregational Church, 103 Main Street, Ridgefield. Donations to one of Marty’s favorite charities, The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (www.Guidedog.org), are welcomed.