Obituary of Martin Gerald Carswell

Martin Gerald Carswell passed away in Sacramento on June 21, 2023, at the age of 77. He was born on March 19, 1946, in Vallejo, California to Harry and Ada Blanche (Harrington) Carswell. 

 

Marty is survived by his wife Cheryl Carswell of Volcano, CA, sister; Joanna Franke (Robert),Sister-in-Laws;Kathryn Pratt (Wayne) and Vicki Lusk, nieces and nephews and their lovely families and his treasured friends.   

 

He was preceded in death by his parents Harry Colin Carswell and Ada Blanche Fredrickson and his loving Grandmother Alice Peterson.   

 

Marty’s family moved to Louisiana, West Virginia and Ohio while he was growing up.  After high school Marty moved to his grandmother’s place in San Jose.  He first attended college there and had a number of jobs including in restaurants and doing some construction work.  He met lifelong friends there that shared his passions for fishing, hunting and jewelry arts.  He also lived in Aspen, CO, where he learned to cook at night to support his skiing habit during the day.   He worked in Silicon Valley for a number of years as an Electronics production supervisor at a few Semiconductor companies.  He met Cheryl while working in Electronics in 1979 and they married in 1984. Marty went back to college and graduated with honors in Materials Engineering in 1987 from San Jose State University. He began a career in Materials research while in college that lasted for the next 17years.  In 1990, Marty and Cheryl bought their place in Volcano and spent most weekends, golfing, skiing, exploring Amador County or working on the property.  In 2003 Marty and Cheryl moved up to Volcano full time.   Marty loved nature and enjoyed his wooded property and the birds and wildlife that made it their home.  He knew the songs of the birds and looked forward to the return of the Grosbeaks each spring.  He was always amazed to hear the frogs come back to life when the seasonal creek began to flow after years of drought.  

 

 Marty joined the local Gem and Mineral club and within a few years, he was active in 3 different gem and mineral clubs and loved to go on rockhounding field trips.  He developed a passion and talent for rock cutting, polishing and making cabochons from the rock he collected.   Marty and Cheryl went on rockhounding RV trips for over 15 years and developed close friendships with many fellow rockhounds.   Every winter they went to Arizona to meet up with rockhound friends and attend the local gem and mineral shows.  They also traveled to many family reunions in Montana and Alberta and enjoyed other family trips to Colorado and Washington and a fun and exciting trailer trip to Alaska in 2006. At home, Marty loved getting together with friends and neighbors for meals, and delighted in cooking, bar-b-quing and baking bread for his friends. 

  

Marty was a researcher by nature.  If he didn’t know how to do something or know how something worked, he would research it.  He could do just about anything.  In San Jose, as a hobby, he built and flew radio-controlled airplanes.  He did the maintenance on all the vehicles, the appliances, and made plumbing repairs.  He kept the 1939 home in excellent shape.  He also had a green thumb and had a small but impressive vegetable garden.  In Volcano, he fell trees, bucked them up, and split the wood.  He found great satisfaction in getting the wood in for the winter.  Marty didn’t have any experience in electrical work, but that didn’t stop him from learning and doing all the wiring and electrical work in the new garage.  He also finished the laundry area and bathroom, including sheet rocking, texturing and replacing the vinyl flooring.  

 

Marty had increasing back pain in his last years, limiting his mobility.  He was the happiest when he could get together with friends.  At Marty’s request there will be no services. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting http://www.danerimortuary.com and signing the guest book. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in Marty’s name to one of our local Gem and Mineral clubs or a charitable organization of your choosing.  

 

Calaveras Gem and Mineral Society, P. O. Box 517, Angels Camp, CA 95222  

El Dorado County Mineral and Gem Society P.O. Box 950, Placerville, CA 95667    

Amador County Gem & Mineral Society. P.O. Box 794, Sutter Creek CA 95685.

 

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