Dr. Martin (Marty) J. Schiesl, Professor Emeritus of History at California State University, Los Angeles, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on October 9, 2019 at the age of 79.
Marty was born in Buffalo, New York, on March 28, 1940, and attended the State University of New York (Buffalo) where he earned his BA, MA and Ph.D. He moved to Los Angeles in 1970 to begin his career as a Professor of History at CSULA. For over 35 years, Marty taught United States and California History and impacted over 13,000 students. During his tenure, he published articles and books on United States, California, and Los Angeles history, and made many important contributions to the social justice movement.
On January 25, 1977, his daughter, Laura, was born and he bragged that he was finally making history. In 1980, he moved with his wife and daughter to Mission Viejo, California where he volunteered to study the feasibility of cityhood and helped form the City of Mission Viejo.
Marty believed that our time is too short not to fight for what is good and true. He respected every member of society and treated everyone equally. Marty was a champion for social justice through his scholarship and, most important, in his everyday interactions. He firmly believed that how a society treats its most vulnerable is always a measure of its humanity. Marty was a true United States historian. He cared deeply about the institutions of self-government, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights. He believed that those institutions, those rules, are what bind us together. Even when we disagree. Marty considered it the imperative of every citizen that loves this country to treat all people fairly.
After his retirement, he continued his research and writing, but his favorite thing was spending time with his granddaughter, Elle, and reading to her. He cherished living his world through her eyes.
Marty is survived by Sharon, his loving wife of 49 years, his daughter, Laura Schiesl Vega, his son-in-law, Michael Vega, his granddaughter, Elle, and his loving extended family.
Marty left us way too soon after a difficult battle with ALS. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the ALS Association of Orange County.
http://weboc.alsa.org/goto/Schiesl
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