Obituary of Alistair Gideon Martz

Alistair Gideon Martz, 18, passed away June 2, 2014 in Olympia, Washington, as the result of a car accident. He was born to Nelson Luke and Jennifer Lynn (Weber) Martz on November 16, 1995, in Olympia. He received his high school diploma at South Sound High School, and was working as a vacuum cleaner salesman. He loved hiking, biking, snowboarding and the outdoors. He is survived by his parents; sister, Zahara Martz; grandparents, Ken and Helen Martz and Lora Mae Weber; and by many aunts, uncles, cousins and dear friends. ———— I read many obituaries trying to get a feel of how I should write Gideon’s obituary, but they were just facts about the person, where they lived, their favorite subject in school, where they were born, all things that didn’t make up who my brother was as a person. He was not facts. He was the feelings he held within himself. He was the words he spoke and the ones he didn’t. He was his dreams and passions. He was the things he loved and the things he hated. He was the things he did and the things he didn’t do. I wanted what I said here to be real, because my brother was a person and he lived in this world and he was always real. I want to remember his whole self. I want to remember the good parts and the bad times, because that all made him who he was, that all made him human. As siblings, we had our ups and downs, as to be expected, but I always knew he was there for me. That was just the kind of person he was. My brother and I had always been close when we were younger, spending hours playing outside, from foraging in the forest pretending we were explorers like Indiana Jones to skating around the neighborhood the moment we got home from school until our bedtime, even skipping dinner at times because we were so involved in the games we made up. As we grew older, we drifted apart. He became an angrier and more aggressive person and, not knowing how to deal with the overwhelming amount of emotions that consumed him, he acted out violently. This was though by no means all of him, and by no means defined his true inner self. I knew all the sides of my brother, and he was the kid who worried and hurt for all those affected by 9/11, as he sat there watching the news. He was the playful kid who enjoyed spending time with younger one, entertaining them and playing with them. He was the boy who held his baby cousins gently with love and tenderness, the boy who never felt inconvenienced when he was asked to help someone out. Gideon was the boy who protected me from jerks at school. Gideon was the way his eyes shone when he was excited about the latest thing. He was the way his voice took this determined and urgent tone when talking about his passions. He was the bounce in his step when he was giddy. He was that grin he almost always had on, and when it was missing, everything felt a bit off. Gideon was a caring person, with a loving heart and kind soul. He just felt everything so deeply that sometimes his emotions came out in an inappropriate manner. I wish I had told him that I’d forgiven him for all the words he’d spoken to me, swearing he meant them and his violent actions, because really I knew in my heart it was just because he didn’t know how to control these swirling emotions and that he didn’t mean them. I wish I had told him how sorry I was for the many hurtful, disgusting words that I let pass through my mouth and mind towards him, but the time for that has passed and I have missed my chance. Gideon did not always do good things, but he did not always do bad things. He was imperfect just like the rest of us. I knew my brother and all his sides and I still loved him, because he was my brother and he was worth it. I love you my brother and I will miss you fiercely and the years I will lose growing up without you. Please leave your memories of Gideon or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.