The Passing of My Friend Martin S. Kadner

I was very saddened to learn last night that Marty Kadner, a friend of mine and a fellow teacher for thirty years at John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, Illinois, died.  Unfortunately, we lost contact after he retired.  My friend Kip said he had found out on Monday and given a call to me, but unfortunately, I didn't get the message until Tuesday morning and didn't get a call back until Tuesday night.  He and his wife had gone to the funeral and burial service.

I went to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune and it didn't have much information, just that Marty was 68, a Vietnam War veteran and recipient of a Bronze Star and that he had taught many years at Magee.  He was buried at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Joliet.

His wit and sharp tongue got us through some trying times at school.  If I didn't know better, I'd say his brother from another mother was Richard Belzer (Detective John Munch) from the TV shows "Homicide" and "Law and Order: SVU."

Marty was not a dog lover, but we once ran into him at Bill's Pizza in Mundelein and he went with us out to Lamb's Farm when we found and picked out Brandy to be our puppy.  The poor guy ended up holding Brandy on the way back to Bill's.  But he dogged through it.

Marty put out an occasional little newsletter called Burnt Offerings, something that he started when the district ceased giving us out Christmas bonus turkeys.  This was one of the funniest things to read I ever set hands to.  He had a way with words worthy of Mike Royko.  If not a teacher, he could have been a journalist easily.

He graduated from Southern Illinois in Carbondale and loved that area of the state.  He always planned to retire there and spend his days fishing.

I was amazed at how many students entered onto the Legacy to thank him.  He brought that wit and dry, really dry, humor into the classroom.

My Life Was So Much Better for Having Known Marty.

I'm Sure he Is Off Somewhere, Probably Fishing and Making His "Observations."