THE PASSING OF MARTI OAKLEY

Although small in stature, Marti Oakley was a giant social activist with diverse interests and advocacy: adult guardianship, hospice, whistleblowers, kidney dialysis, black farmers, wild horses, animals, and more. She was a podcast pioneer, using her TS Radio Network podcast to tackle and expose these and other social issues, years before podcasts became popular. She was also a prolific and passionate writer as published on the PPJ Gazette.

Marti had the wonderful gift of gab and a wit which entertained her audience and her good friends. She didn’t need much sleep. She was always thinking, reading, and researching. She had elephant ears and would spend hours listening to victims and sympathizing with their plight. She always put others before her needs and she cared with every fiber of her body.

It was Marti who brought the issue of guardianship abuse to the yearly Whistleblower Summit in DC. People from all over the country came to hear her speak and the attention humbled her. She was sought out by victims globally as well.

She just never stopped. What people don’t know about Marti is she did even more work behind the scenes, which she didn’t talk about. She helped free several victims from guardianship and she also prevented many guardianships. She wrote numerous letters to Congress and made many trips to DC on behalf of guardianship reform.

She loved her family fiercely. She was the very definition of Momma Bear. And in the last few years of her life, she was blessed with great-grandchildren which she absolutely adored.

Her legacy survives her and her radio shows and speeches at the Whistleblower Summit are archived. As her beloved great-grandchildren grow, although she won’t be with them in person, they will be able to hear her voice and feel her passion. And so will we.

We will remember Marti as a person with a heart of gold much bigger than her body. We will miss her every day.

Godspeed, dear friend. “Like a phoenix, she will rise!”