Reese Martin died doing what he loved

Charlotte Fox gets it now.

Her husband, Reese Martin, died in a paragliding accident July 9. Going paragliding herself so soon after the tragic accident was one of the last things she wanted to do. But Sunday, she did it.

She went up with Mr. Martin's paragliding friends. She flew in tandem. No, she didn't love it.

"But I could see why he loved it so much," said Fox, an experienced climber. "The freedom of flying and following the currents of the wind and the beauty. I did it for Reese."

Mr. Martin, a former Mercer Island and Seattle resident who lived his last years in Aspen, Colo., died paragliding during the Chelan Cross Country Classic in Central Washington. He was 49.

Experts from the sport have examined the crash site and concluded the wing of Mr. Martin's glider most likely collapsed, which can happen in turbulent air. Pilots sometimes can re-inflate the wing or deploy an emergency parachute, but examiners assume Mr. Martin was at too low an altitude to afford him that much time. His body was found July 10. Investigators say he died on impact.

Mr. Martin's family members, who had long accepted the risks of the sport, say he died doing what he loved.

"It was an absolutely beautiful place, and he was among many of his colleagues and friends in the place he loved," said his sister, Patreese Martin, of Seattle. "I can't imagine a better way to go."

Mr. Martin attended Mercer Island High School and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Washington. The first degree was in science and forestry; the master's was in forest management. He worked as an environmental engineer.

Mr. Martin was also an avid rock climber and worked to make the sport safer. As part of the American Safe Climbing Association and the American Alpine Club, he would venture to popular climbing areas and fix unsafe bolts — the fixed anchors permanently attached to rocks, used by climbers needing to hook their rope.

He was also a member of The Access Fund, an organization dedicated to conserving climbing areas and making them accessible.

When it came to paragliding, Patreese Martin says it was the portability of the sport that had her brother smitten.

"You can put it on your back and actually climb with it," she said. "In his mind, the idea of being able to climb to the top of a cliff and jump off seemed like the ultimate freedom."

Mr. Martin's father, Reese Martin II, was an experimental test pilot.

"To the very end, flight had been his passion," Patreese Martin said. "It was hard for us to kind of not pick that up from him."

Mr. Martin shared a love for adventure with his wife, too.

Fox, an alpine and rock climber, is one of the survivors of the group written about in Jon Krakauer's book, "Into Thin Air" — the true account of a tragic Mount Everest expedition in 1996 in which eight people died.

She understands why her husband loved his high-risk sports.

"I think you live completely in the moment," Fox said. "It's a real combination of the spiritual, physical and the mental."

In addition to his wife and sister, Mr. Martin is survived by his mother, Patricia Martin, of Mercer Island, and his brother, John Martin, of San Diego.

A memorial service is scheduled for July 31 in Aspen. A service in Mercer Island is planned for Aug. 14, from 3-5 p.m., at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, at 1836 72nd Ave Southeast, in Mercer Island.

Contributions can be sent to the Reese Martin Memorial Fund, care of The Access Fund, P.O. Box 17010, Boulder, CO 80308.

Young Chang: 206-748-5815 or ychang@seattletimes.com