Martin Ronald Gladstein

Marty was born on August 6, 1944 in Oakland, California to Lou and Sylvia Gladstein. The oldest of four children, Marty grew up in nearby San Leandro. As a preview of his civic duties later in life, when running for class president in junior high school, Marty bet on the slogan: “Have a party, vote for Marty!”

Marty attended UC Davis, obtaining a BA in Political Science, before moving on to law school at UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall. His budding legal career found Marty moving to Los Angeles, where he would remain for the rest of his life (begrudgingly, perhaps, given his love for the San Francisco Giants). After spending several decades as first a civil litigator, and then a criminal defense attorney, Marty was appointed as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1999, a position he held for 25 years until his retirement in April of this year. It was in this role that Marty was able to dole out equal parts patience and wisdom to all those with whom he came into contact.

Outside of work, Marty was a lifelong model railroad enthusiast, having built (and destructed, and rebuilt) several 1950’s towns with trains running through them where the local businesses in town were named after his family members. Marty remained active in the community, including judging local high school mock trial competitions up until his passing. Most of all, Marty loved nothing more than spending time with his family, and could always be found with a beaming smile and a story at holidays and countless weekend sporting events.

Marty is survived by his children, Joel, Hilary (Jeremy), Katie (Nir), and Aaron (Joie), grandchildren, Lily, Sawyer, Ella, Ori, Micah, and Binyamin, and siblings Terri (Tom), Debbie (Harvey), and Randy. Marty was preceded in death by his parents, Lou and Sylvia, and his sister-in-law, Diane.

Private funeral services will be held to honor Marty’s life and legacy. In lieu of sending flowers, please consider making a donation in Marty’s name to the National MS Society. Dad/Poppy/Marty will be missed by so many. In his honor, hug a loved one and tell them a good story…just the way he would have done.