Michael Marble

Michael Marble

Fort Bragg, CA

Michael Sharp Marble of Fort Bragg died suddenly November 7, 2015, doing what he loved to do. He was born in Bakersfield, CA, to Dana E. and Margaret S. Marble on June 6, 1938. He graduated from Ventura High School in 1956 and joined the U.S. Air Force where he served for 4 years as crew chief. Mike worked for a short while as a truck driver in Santa Paula area then came to Fort Bragg in 1962 with his young family to begin a career in the woods. He worked driving logging trucks for Union Lumber Co. and retired from tree falling for Georgia Pacific in 1986 after 25 years.



Mike enjoyed a life-long passion for fishing, building a 26' wooden boat while he recovered from a woods accident. He attended the College of the Redwoods and then became a commercial pilot and flight instructor in the 1980's. He and his second wife built their home in Cleone in the early 1980's during which time he dove for urchins by day and worked at the mill in the evenings. He participated in building a 55' fishing boat, the Adrienne A, which was launched in 1993 and fished the South Pacific for albacore with his son John and wife Adrienne. At the beginning of their 1996 albacore trip he and his son John rescued a stranded sailor 1000 miles off the coast of Mexico, and subsequently returned to retrieve the abandoned sailboat.



Mike retired from commercial fishing in 2005 and continued to fish for salmon, crab, and albacore. At the age of 70, Mike became an avid tree climber, trimming many of his own trees and those of his friends and neighbors.



Mike is survived by his wife of 38 years, Adrienne Ardito, his three accomplished children, Jeff, John, Judy (Phelps) and their mother Linda Hendricks, his brother Tim Marble of Chico, and his sister Melinda Marble Cantor of Cambridge, MA. He has six grandchildren, 2 great granddaughters and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his huge community of friends who knew him to be a loving and generous man. Mike exercised at the Sports Club with enthusiasm where he loved to "better his best".



A Celebration of Life will be held at the Pentecost Hall on January 9, 2016 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Noyo Women for Fisheries (P.O. Box 1087 Fort Bragg, CA, 95437, attn: Julee Estes)