John Martellaro was good man. He was not only a better man than me, he was one of the best people I knew. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you Mr. Martellaro passed away today.
He rose to the rank of Captain in the U.S. Air Force, and he was a NASA scientist. He worked for years at Apple, and most importantly to me, he was a columnist and the voice of reason and humanity at The Mac Observer. He wrote SciFi and a variety of tech columns for several other Mac sites, too.
John was kind, smart, logical, and always reasonable. He was both considerate and considered. Every word that came out of his mouth had a reason to be there and a place to go. He played peacemaker for me more than once. I’ll always be grateful for that.
The man was funny, too. I almost typed “wickedly funny,” though that isn’t right at all. John was never wicked where I saw him, but his sense of humor would sometimes sneak up on you when you were least expecting. I was always happy to see John, and his absence leaves a gaping hole in my heart and in the world.
John is survived by his wife, Lea, a darling titan of a woman, and by the many people who knew and loved him. Salute, sir.
Some other posts about John:
Jeff Gamet (Bluesky)
13 Responses
He was a good man. I missed hearing him on the podcast. Sorry to hear the news. That is an awesome photo of everyone.
God bless 😇✌🏻
He was. Thanks for dropping a word, Greg. ♥️
So very sorry to hear it. Judging by the company he kept, he was a prince.
Thanks, Mike. Salute to you, sir. ♥️
I met John in 1966 when we were both Astrophysics majors at Indiana University. We were roommates for two years there. Our lives crisscrossed in many ways. I had convinced John to join the Air Force ROTC Program and in the late 1970s he convinced me to get an Apple II computer. Both of these opened many doors for each of us and allowed us to be successful in whatever we pursued. John was a very special friend for nearly 60 years. I will miss him more than I can say.
That’s a terrific story! Thanks, Mike. My condolences. I knew John for less than half as long as you, and I know how much I miss him.
John was great, Bryan. I know that Tim Robertson of MyMac (who also died suddenly last summer) had a huge amount of respect for him.
This is sad to hear 😔
I remember working with John a few times many years ago, when he covered Daylite for us. He would listen intently. Beyond the coverage, his advice and wisdom was always appreciated.
RIP.
Hey AJ, I remember Daylite and you well. Thanks for dropping a note, sir.
Until today I had sort of forgotten about John. I recognized the name and did a quick email search in my old archives. Wow what a kick. My dad and John were friends back in the MyMac days and I have several group emails with John, my dad, and a few others discussing apple hardware and some odd ball POP/IMAP conversations. I think I sort of disconnected from that world when my dad died in 2011. Reading through some of these old threads was a trip down memory lane. RIP John
Thanks, Chris.