I searched around on Google and found Marlin's Youtube channel. There are seven videos on it. Double click on the video above to go to his YouTube channel and see all 7 of his videos.
This is the photo that ran with his obituary in the York,Pa. newpaper. This is how Marlin looked in his younger days.
Marlin died a week ago and is being buried today. He was 76 years old. He had been dying slowly over the last 8 months.
I got used to seeing him every day for the last ten years or more at the coffee shop I go to in the morning. He would read 4 or 5 newspapers every day. He would sit and read every word sometimes tearing out a story to take home. He would sit at the same table and read for 4 or 5 hours never talking to anyone.
There are many seniors that come to this coffee shop every day. Most of them know each other and socialize. Marlin kept to himself. He did not want to be bothered but he would be friendly if spoken to.
One guy I know called him Professor Marlin.
In the summer he would take off his tennis shoes and sit with his bare feet under the table. No one bothered him. He would bring a muffin from 7-11 where he stopped to buy his newspapers. Then he would get his senior coffee and settle down in the handicap booth to pour over his newspapers. He really didn't want to be disturbed.
He rode a bike to the coffee shop every day around 6:30 a.m. He did tell me once that he had sold his car ten years ago. And he had stopped using it long before that.
When he traveled he traveled by plane or bus or the subway. He liked to go into DC and go the exhibits at the National Geographic Building.
He had retired long ago. His obituary is at the bottom of this page.
He had worked for the MITRE corporation.
This is a good link to the wikipedia page explaining what the MITRE corporation is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitre_Corporation
Here is a link to the MITRE website.
http://www.mitre.org/
He had traveled all over the world in his life.
Several months ago he had a seizure and fell out of his booth at the coffee shop. They called the ambulance which took him to the hospital. Someone stole his bike from in front of the coffee shop while he was in the hospital.
He did have one or two people from the coffee shop that tried to look after him. They would take him food and drink at home when he was ill. He stopped eating at one point.
He had to go back in the hospital when one of the guys found him on the floor by the door at his house.
His family came down from Pa. to visit him in the hospital.
Finally he got so sick they put him in a nursing home. He lasted about 2 months there and then he passed on.
He did have one final trip to Mexico last Christmas to see a friend of his in Mexico City. He was down there all of Jan. because his passport expired while he was there and he had to wait to get that cleared up before he could return to the U.S.A.
Marlin was an intellectual. A smart man who had once been a pilot. He once owned his own plane. He was a no nonsense man. Very blunt and to the point. But very hard to get to know. He kept to himself
He knew he was dying. He lost weight. He stopped eating.
He told us, "I am dying". He was in a great deal of pain. He had cancer all over his body. They gave him pain medication.
He rode his bike right up to the last weeks. Even when he could hardly walk he could ride his bike.
He told some of us of his trip to Mexico when he came back last Feb.
I really did not know much of Marlin or his life but I found him to be an interesting man. Most of us really don't know much about each other. We just think we do.
Marlin's Obituary in the York Pa. newspaper
Marlin L. Leiphart |
ARLINGTON, VA Marlin Leo Leiphart, 76, formerly of Red Lion, entered into rest at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, August 24, 2010, at at Manor Care in Arlington, Va. He was born in Brogue-ville, on December 15, 1933, and was the son of the late Earl and Rachel (Altland) Leiphart. Mr. Leiphart was a satellite communications engineer at Mitre, where he worked until his retirement. He was an avid worldwide traveler, a private pilot who enjoyed flying his airplanes, a special government clearance officer, and a member of the Smithsonian Institute. Surviving are two daughters, Dr. Victoria Leiphart and Lisa Smith, both of California; two grandchildren, Peter and Christy; three brothers, Charles Leiphart and wife, Doris of Red Lion, Samuel Leiphart and wife, Beverly of York, and Donald Leiphart and wife, Mary Jane of Red Lion; two sisters, Janet Heist of York and Geraldine Snyder of Red Lion; a half brother, Wayne Barshinger and wife, Mary of Red Lion; two half sisters, Elaine Sixtos and husband, Fernando of York, and Sharon Leiphart of Erie; and numerous nieces and nephews. There will be a viewing from 9 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, September 1, 2010, at Burg Funeral Home, Inc., 134 W. Broadway, Red Lion. The service will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Bethel U.M. Cemetery. Contributions may be offered to Grace Fellowship, 1405 Seven Valleys Road, York, PA 17408. www.BurgFuneralHome.com
Published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch on August 27, 2010
