I am deeply saddened by the news of Marty’s passing. My first contact with him was at a small meeting in Hamburg when I had just started to learn about EPICS. Sure enough he was able to answer all my questions and provide some hints of what I had misunderstood.
When it came to software, he was very thorough, trying to consider all sides of it, and then he added an extension layer just in case. At meetings at the APS, I liked asking what new books he had in his office - which he had all studied - to see if there's
something new I should also look into. I think Marty's favorite type of presentation was a header file printout, just the facts.
Since he was so methodical with software, it sure is funny how he used the "first speed, then direction" approach when it came to walking. I remember one EPICS meeting where Marty and Bob got me to walk around for quite some time, telling me how that's
the best approach to overcome jet-lag.
I fondly remember meeting Marty at several get-togethers, he was clearly a huge part of what made EPICS useful, and no smaller part of what made the collaboration fun.