Marilyn Gayle Martin

Born in Los Angeles of an American mother, Esther Chatfield, and Canadian father, Peter Kolenick, when she was six years old Gayle moved with her family to western Canada, where she went to school and grew up on the Canadian prairie. With her dual nationality and an early fascination to travel and see more of the world, she joined Trans Canada Airlines (Air Canada) as a stewardess and moved to Toronto, Canada’s largest city, on her 21st birthday.

Gayle’s dream of travel began, flying to major US cities and the Caribbean, but within a year she met a young Englishman Neil Martin on a blind date at a lakeside summer cottage. Within a year she moved with him to Montreal, and they were soon married. Neil had joined the marketing department of an international chemical company that moved its people around often, and Gayle’s dream of travel began again in earnest.

Shortly after their marriage Neil and Gayle moved to Alberta in western Canada, and a year and a half later back to Montreal. The company transfers kept coming, with moves to Toronto; Zug, Switzerland; back to Montreal; then New York; and back to Toronto. During these travels they still found time to start a family, with a first son, Patrick, born in Montreal and then Robert in Switzerland.

Despite their many moves, along the way Gayle found the time to develop a career of her own, switching from flying to travel planning and eventually interior design, spending a year at Parsons School of Design during their time in New York.

A few years later, back again in Toronto, since the boys were reaching college age and had chosen the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the family decided to embrace the west coast lifestyle and move once more, this time to southern California.

The wheel had come full circle and Gayle had returned to her roots. La Jolla then became truly home, and notwithstanding six years in Rancho Santa Fe (which they loved), a year and a half in Naples, Florida, and six months in London, England, it has remained so for the past 30 plus years.

The Martins’ sons and families (three grandchildren) live in San Francisco and Denver.

Patrick a corporate banker and Robert an airline Captain.

A reception to remember Gayle is planned in a few weeks.