Farewell, Capt. Marti Garrow….

“Last night we lost another good one. Capt. Marti Garrow, unit #35, lost his short fight with cancer,” reported North Ridgeville Police the morning of Oct. 9.

“It doesn’t quite seem real. Marti was always bigger than life and a true icon here. He started his career in service to the citizens of North Ridgeville in December 1989. Marti was a member of our Crisis Intervention Team, a Field Training Officer, a crash reconstructionist, an emergency vehicle driving instructor, a detective bureau supervisor, a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and a true leader.

“More than all of that though, Marti was a good human. He was doing this job for the right reasons and he taught a lot of us things that we carry to this day. I have so many stories about my times with Marti, stories that I won’t tell here. Anyone that knew Marti has the same kinds of stories. Stories that will be told over beers in the coming days and everyone will smile because they know every word of them is true.

“Outside of work, Marti continued to serve. He was a wrestler and loved coaching kids. He coached for the Columbia schools and actually built a facility to train in at his home. He and Robin founded the Columbia Youth Wrestling Club which is still active today.

“Marti was a proud family man. His wife, Robin and he had four boys (Shane, Sean, Corey, and Hayden) that are all equally good humans and made him proud every day. The duty to serve runs deep in the family with Shane serving as a United States Marine and Corey serving as a soldier in the United States Army.

“I’ve said this before, but – for as horrible as cancer is – it gives you a wonderful gift. It allows you to say goodbye. It allows you to make amends and say things that need to be said before regrets are cemented for eternity. We are going to miss Marti tremendously but he died knowing how much he was loved.

“One thing that I am fairly certain of is that Marti is currently setting up the most epic pig roast ever. That pig roast will run forever and he will welcome his friends to it as they arrive throughout the years.

“So long, Marti. Watch over us, now just as you did in life. Our passenger seats are always open brother.”

– By the North Ridgeville Police Department