On February 26, 2022 L. R. (Luke) Marden passed away at the age of 99 years in Morgan Hill, CA.   A devoted husband and father of three, grandfather of 6, great grandfather of 4.    An unassuming man of deep faith and solid convictions.

Luke was the third of five children (one surviving brother, Richard) born to Bert and Emma ( Rykken) Marden in San Jose, Ca  where his parents settled in 1915 coming from the Spicer/Green Lake area of Minnesota.   His maternal grandfather K.T. Rykken, having sailed there at age 12 from Norway in 1868.

He was a graduate of San Jose High School, a WWII Naval veteran, and retired from Pacific Bell Telephone (AT&T).  He had fond memories of growing up in the busy agricultural town.  He would explore the Richmond Chase cannery warehouse that his father worked in.  He recalled helping build and train on one of the areas velodrome bike tracks.  And enjoyed many trips traveling to Gilroy to attend the annual Gymkhana celebrations and parades.

In December of 1941, 20 days after Pearl Harbor and 10 days after his 19 ^th birthday he felt the call to serve his country he joined the Navy.   He was trained in San Diego as a sonarman and deployed on the destroyer USS Phelps DD360 in WWII.  His first battle being Midway in June 1942.   He received honorable Navy discharge October 1945 at the end of the war having earned The Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with Nine Battle Stars.  His other awards included the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal, the World War II victory Medal, and the Philippine Defense medal.

In 1951 he married Frances Pfeiffer at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church in New Almaden Ca.    Joining the large Pfeiffer Clan provided years of family gatherings and celebrations along with the many friends in the Almaden Valley.    Fran and Luke raised three children, Luke, Ellen and Mark on Almaden Road in south San Jose.

Luke often attributed his long life to many days of brush and firewood cutting at his family cabin on a ridge in the shadow of Loma Prieta, purchased by his father 85 years ago, and to having a 'couple of drinks' in the evening.

Luke was an active member of the USS Phelps Shipmates organization.  He was proud of his service, proud of the men he served with but never one to boast.  His pride was demonstrated in the USS Phelps, Tin Can Sailors hat he wore daily.  He would say it was a reminder of his shipmates and those that did not come home.

He retired in 1978 after a 31-year career with Pacific Bell Telephone in which he began as a lineman climbing poles, and left as line assigner in upper management and planning.  Luke and Fran built a home and moved to Camino, CA. in 1980 where they resided until Fran passed away at the age of 74 in 2002.  Luke moved to the Gilroy area in 2012 to be close to family.

The family would like to thank Loma Clara Assisted Living and Suncrest Hospice for their help and generous time spent with Luke.

A memorial service is being planned for later this year.