HOOKSET, NH--Martin “Marty” Joseph Orth passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on March 30th, the day after his 80th birthday in Merrimack, NH. Mr. Orth was born in Jersey City, NJ, and raised in Guttenberg and West New York in Hudson County. He attended Memorial High School but left early, in 1956 at the age of 17, to pursue his dream of traveling the world and serving his country in the United States Navy. He proudly spent a decade in the U.S. Navy and 2 years in the Naval Reserve until a near fatal car accident in 1967 sidelined his return to active service.
Mr. Orth’s active naval service included duty on various destroyers (USS McGowan (DD-678), USS McCaffery (DD/DDE-860)) and submarines (USS George Washington (SSBN-598), USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), USS Croaker (SS/SSK/AGSS/IXSS-246), USS Tusk (SS-426)). His worldwide deployments included the north Atlantic to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Suez Canal to call at various Near Eastern ports and Karachi, Pakistan. He was one of the last seamen to cross the Arctic Circle in September 1960 on the USS McGowan before its decommissioning in November of that year. Mr. Orth was a sonar man and achieved the rank of Petty Officer, 2nd class.
Upon discharge from the U.S. Navy, he moved to Piscataway, NJ and worked for AT&T for 20 years, in various managerial positions including as a District Manager. An active member of the Piscataway community, Mr. Orth was a member of the Superchiefs Band Parents Association, a former President of the High School Athletics Booster Club, coached and was actively involved in various town-wide recreation sports. He was elected and served on the Piscataway Board of Education from 1985 through 1989. In retirement, Mr. Orth lived in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ and Huntingdon Valley, PA. In November of 2014, he relocated to Hooksett, NH and soon fell in love with and was adopted by the Granite State and its motto “Live Free or Die.”
Marty was the patriarch of a blended family that included his set of twins and his long-time partner and mother of 3 daughters. He is survived by his son Joseph Orth and wife Martyna of Brick, NJ, and daughter Jody Orth and husband Edward Mount of Bayville, NJ, Janet Hansen of Hooksett, NH, his companion of nearly 31 years and step-daughters Karen DeBonis and husband Jonathan of Denver, CO, Christine Hansen of Newport, RI and Jennifer Goodhart and husband Joshua of Atlanta, GA, a brother, Richard Orth of Pompton Lakes, NJ, niece Debbie Orth of Jupiter, FL, nephews Jeffrey Orth of South Plainfield, NJ and Patrick Kelly of Newton, NJ, as well as 11 grandchildren, and former spouse and lifelong friend, Carol Orth of Lake Hiawatha, NJ.
A memorial celebration of his life will take place in New Jersey on Sunday, June 9, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus in Toms River, NJ. For more information, contact Jody Orth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Mr. Orth will be interred at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery located in Wrightstown, NJ in a ceremony provided by the Navy Honor Guard at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 10, 2019.