Marvin R. Litscher's Obituary
Marvin Litscher, former longtime resident and business owner in Half Moon Bay, CA died peacefully at home in Galt, CA on March 24, 2016 at the age of 79. His health had been in decline since a near-fatal fall from a ladder 11 years ago.A graveside service is scheduled for 2pm Wednesday, 30 March 2016 at the Skylawn Memorial Park on Highway 92 just outside of Half Moon Bay. A visitation period will precede the service in the Skylawn funeral home’s Portola Room from 11:00 to 1:30. Marv’s family invites all to come by and share their fond and humorous memories of their times with Marv. Memories and condolences can be sent through the Skylawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park website (www.skylawmemorialpark.com)Marv will be missed by his many family and friends, including his bride of 54 years, Viola (Gaines) Litscher, his son Ralph Litscher and daughter-in-law Sherrie, his sister Ruthie Miller and her husband Jim of Burns, Oregon, his sister Bev Methvin and her husband Dick of Turner, Oregon, his brother Jim and his wife Pam of Burns, Oregon, his brother Dave and his wife Jan of Burns, Oregon, his brothers-in-law Bob Gaines of Half Moon Bay, and Ted Gaines of Gardnerville, Nevada. Marv is preceded in death by his brother Ronnie of Hoopa, California and his parents John and Margaret (Dorsey) Litscher of Dayton, Oregon.Marv was born on October 17, 1936 in Yakima, Washington. Growing up near Dayton, Oregon, he graduated from Dayton Union High School in 1954, then served one tour in the U.S. Army stationed in Baumholder, Germany. Following his military service, he earned a degree in Applied Science for Machinist Technology at Oregon Technical Institute. Upon graduation, Litton Industries immediately offered Marv a job in San Carlos, CA. While working at Litton, he met his sweetheart, Viola Gaines of Half Moon Bay. He and Viola married in 1962 and made Half Moon Bay their home. Four years later, the couple welcomed their son, Ralph, and Marv set about teaching him the value of doing things right and doing the right things.In the early ’70’s, Marv opened his own machinist business, “Half Moon Machine,” first in the garage-shop in his back yard, then expanding to a portion of the Ocean Shore Hardware building on Main Street in Half Moon Bay. Always developing solutions to meet his customers’ unique needs, he designed numerous one-of-a-kind fixes for fishermen and farmers throughout the Coastside. Some of his notable work included the designing, manufacturing, and/or remanufacturing of ice cream cone mold machines and the Gallo Salami Company’s packaging machines.Sort of a blend of Will Rogers and George Carlin, Marv was accomplished at humorous observation of people and life, and usually greeted friends and strangers alike with his quick wit. He always thought people should slow down in life, and many frustrated morning commuters along Main St and and the Coastside may remember the guy in the big, blue, flatbed Ford blocking both lanes as he putted along his own drive to work every morning.Marv loved morning gatherings for coffee. It did not matter if was breakfast at the big round table at Johnny’s in Half Moon Bay or coffee with the “porch club” near Galt – the unplanned group that gathered in the mismatched chairs on the front porch of the Herald Store. Those were his first stops of the day. Always the innovator, after his accident and loss of mobility in his neck (and later, his CA state driver’s license), he would drive to morning coffee at the Herald Store and proudly proclaim that “I can go anywhere I need to go making only right turns.”More quietly, he was a generous individual who volunteered his time and talents to repairing the well-used team equipment of all the kids’ sports teams around Half Moon Bay long after his own son was off to college, and always contributing to the community through formal and informal associations like the Half Moon Bay Rotary Club, the Herald Store “Porch Club,” and the “Bald Guys Breakfast Club.” Through these associations, Marv had great kinship with friends and fellow businessmen who joined together to help several scholarship and community efforts, and provide a helping hand to those would never ask for help. He often hid his natural kindness with grumpy-old-man wisecracks, but people close to him knew better…as did the many stray, abused, and neglected animals that found their way to him.Marv and his family would like to thank the numerous doctors, nurses, and staff of U.C Davis for the last 11 years of dedicated care and efforts to help Marv continue to enjoy morning coffee and pancake breakfasts with the Herald Store Front Porch Club, daily strolls to the barn to feed the stray kitties, Sunday afternoons watching NASCAR and carefully tracking driver statuses throughout the season, sitting in the sun on his carefully-adjusted-until-it-was-just-right-lawn chair surrounded by his loyal pack of rescue dogs, driving his tractor around the yard (taking only right hand turns) and using his cane to direct his family’s outdoor chores with exacting detail, collecting dozens of more ball caps that he would never wear (as he always defaulted to the faded camouflaged Army patrol cap that his son gave him 20 years ago), and daily musings in his observations life’s ironies and contradictions.
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