John Beckman Martin, Jr. of Morro Bay, CA passed away December 4, 2025 surrounded by family.
John was born in Miami, Florida in 1958 and moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia; Sherborn, Massachusetts; and finally, Calabasas, California, but it was Sherborn that he remembered all his life. After moving to California, John became an avid surfer, surfing all the popular breaks, often hitchhiking to Malibu or Zuma Beach to surf with his friends. He graduated from Agoura High School in 1977 and in the fall of the same year, he attended University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) majoring in accounting with an unofficial surfing minor. Santa Barbara is where he met Deja, his favorite German Shepard. She was the first of a number of German Shepard family dogs—all beloved — Maggie, Aundi and Addie.
Although John valued accounting and UCSB had its good surf breaks, it wasn’t for him. He transferred to the University of Oregon majoring in architecture his sophomore year, and then later to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for landscape architecture where he completed most of the requirements for the degree. But a career as an architect wasn’t for him either. He wanted a more practical and practice-based profession and became a licensed contractor. He perfected his skills as a finish carpenter, and found using his hands, working with wood fulfilling and very creative. John was an artist at heart who believed “form follows function,” and this was evident in everything he did. He never quit designing, using some of what he learned at the universities in his cabinetry and woodworking, but primarily using his
own exceptional sense of design. Ultimately, he became a master carpenter and furniture maker, one of a select few on California’s central coast. Some of his most accomplished and innovative work occurred while working for and with his friend Steve Watt, two like-minded superior craftsmen who valued excellence in every project.
John and Kate met in 1986 when he came to do some work on her house in Tarzana. Soon after, she invited him to go to a Pink Floyd concert. From then on, they continued seeing each other and eventually decided on an anniversary date of April Fools’ Day 1987. This was the perfect date for their anniversary since John had a great sense of humor and always made Kate laugh.
Over the years, they attended many concerts and enjoyed good music, went skiing and kayaking with family and friends, and worked together on houses in California and Minnesota. John and Kate’s final and best home project was their lake cabin in Longville, Minnesota. It reminded John of Sherborn and it felt like he was home. The desire for a lake cabin sprang from a belief that the best way to spend time with family is at the lake. After many summers with grandchildren swimming, pontoon surfing, splitting wood, canoeing the river and numerous renovation projects, a tradition was born. The family loves to say: “Life is better at the lake.”
John is survived by Kate his loving partner of 39 years; daughters Mariah (David), Dawn (Ruedi) and Nicole; grandchildren Cole, Kiara, Siena, and Derek; sisters Carol, Kathy, and Kelly (Ken); nephews and nieces; and many extended family members and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Jack and Gail Martin and grandson Dylan.
Please consider a donation in John’s name to: Central Coast Hospice at centralcoasthomehealth.com or the Jaqualyn Palchak Cancer Fund at Palchakcancerfund.org.
