George Miner Martin III

August 14, 1948 - February 26, 2020 Resident of San Jose

George Miner Martin III, of San Jose, passed away peacefully due to complications from cancer on Feb 26, 2020, surrounded by his beloved wife and children.

A lifelong Californian, George was born August 14, 1948, in Los Angeles, the third child of George Miner Martin, Jr. and Grace Louise Kiene Martin. He spent his first 10 years in Pasadena, then moved with his family to the Santa Clara Valley, where he spent most of his years.

George graduated from Sunnyvale High School in 1967, and earned a B.S. in Political Science from UCLA. His passion for electronics and strong technical skills kept him busy throughout his life. George earned his ham radio license at the age of 14, and spent decades communicating with people near and far. With an encyclopedic knowledge of radio technology he was a key contributor launching radio station KUSP in Santa Cruz, CA, in the early 1970s. He also served as chief news and information reporter.

George grew interested in optoelectronics, and became a world class expert. He spent the last 20 years of his career working in Medical Device Research and Development for Johnson & Johnson, where he was named Fellow and received their highest level of recognition—Excellentia in Scientia. Upon his retirement from Johnson & Johnson he worked as a principal at OptoElectronix producing LED devices, with a team from Penang, Malaysia and the Bay area; long-time colleagues and friends.

George is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Kerry; daughter Rebecca and her husband Jared Lander and son Lev; son Jeff and his partner Elyse Corrales; brother William Martin and wife Susan Duell Martin; nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, all of whom loved him dearly. Their oldest daughter, Larissa, preceded him in death, as did his sister Dr. Sarah Martin.

George was a brilliant man of many accomplishments. He was gregarious and affectionate, had a great sense of humor, and was devoted to those he loved. His enthusiasm was infectious and he was not shy about using exclamation points. He could often be found in his garage office creating new electronic inventions or passionately writing letters to the editor, while blasting Jimi Hendrix, Mozart, or Giants baseball. George had a radiant spirit and generous heart and he will be sorely missed.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Celebration of Life has been postponed until 2021.