Norcross resident Captain Marvin H. ("Marty") Mason, Jr., died at home on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, following a courageous battle with heart disease. He is survived by his beloved wife Rae Cox Mason of the home, his four daughters, Margie Brady (John), Katie Sharp, Melissa Wiedeman (Justin) and Elizabeth Totten (Sean); and nine grandchildren, Ossian, Maeghan, Kyra and Aidan Brady; Hannah and Allison Sharp; and Gabriel, Josh and Jacob Totten; his two brothers, John and David Mason; two nieces; and numerous first cousins including Carey Morgan and Fran Irwin, among others.
Born in North Carolina on November 6, 1942, Marty was the son of the late Harriette Weatherly and Marvin H. Mason, Sr., of Mebane and Rutherfordton, North Carolina. He was raised primarily in Burlington and Rutherfordton County, NC, and attended public schools in North Carolina. He graduated from Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High School in 1960 where he was a member of the Senior Honors Group and received the Spindale Women's Club Science Award as the school's outstanding science student.
He attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, then transferred to North Carolina State University in Raleigh where he graduated in 1964 with a B.S. degree in Textile Sciences.
Following graduation he entered the United States Navy's O.C.S. program, Newport, Rhode Island, where he graduated and was commissioned as an Ensign. He then attended pre-flight training at Naval Aviation Schools Command, Pensacola, Florida and flight school at Naval Air Training School, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. He was awarded the wings of a Naval Aviator at Corpus Christi and flew the P-2 Neptune (a land-based anti submarine aircraft) during active duty service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He remained in the Navy's active reserve, eventually serving as Commanding Officer of his reserve unit on an amphibious warfare carrier and achieving the rank of Captain. He served 27 years active and active reserve duty as a Naval officer and aviator before retirement.
Beginning in the mid 1970s he became active in the cable television business operating his own company, Mason Brothers, Inc. among other positions in the industry. He retired from business operations in 2012 but continued to install cable systems for friends he knew in the business and non-profit entities at discounted and pro bono rates until illness forced him to permanently retire.
He was baptized and reared in the Presbyterian Church and maintained a strong Christian faith throughout his lifetime.
He was a kind man with good intentions, and he exhibited genius at solving electrical, mechanical and radio transmission issues, having once built a satellite reception dish in his backyard. He was a good and beloved neighbor to many in his neighborhood and often bestowed random acts of kindness among them. He was loyal to his friends, causes he believed in, the Atlanta Braves, and had a lifelong curiosity trying to understand how things "worked." He was a loving and caring father to his four daughters, a devoted grandfather and an adoring husband to his wife Rae who he considered to be the most remarkable blessing of his life.
A graveside memorial service will be held at a later date (to be announced) at Oakwood Cemetery, Mebane, N.C. Memorial gifts may be made to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 N. Randolph Street. Suite 225, Arlington, VA 22203 (www.nmcrs.org); or Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth and Families, 80 Lake Eden Road, Black Mountain, NC 28711 (www.blackmountainhome.org).
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