Photographer & Educator: 1949 – 2020
Marty Rose Springer died peacefully at home in Redwood City after a 14-month bout with bile duct cancer. She is survived by her wife of 22 years, Keldyn West, her aunt, Annette Felder Carrel, and cousins David, Laura, and Jason Carrel and their families.
Marty was a photographer and educator. She received her BA in Aesthetic Studies Specializing in Photography from UCSC and studied with many notable instructors over the years. She taught all ages through local community programs and schools, and formerly through the California Arts in Corrections Program. She was the volunteer curator at the Redwood Shores Library Gallery, a volunteer with the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, and a member of the National Press Photographers Association.
Marty was born in San Francisco and always drew energy from this place. She grew up in Alameda and attended UC Santa Cruz, receiving a BA in Aesthetic Studies, specializing in Photography. In addition to teaching, she was a professional photographer. She believed in the value of community art classes and taught thousands of students over the years. Student could come to her class with any kind of camera, and she would teach them to use it both technically and, more importantly, to find their own artistic voices. She believed that everyone is an artist. Marty curated an annual photography show called Localvision from 1994 to 2019. Localvision gave her students a place to share their work and vision, but its true essence was about building community and connecting people.
Marty often said that her happiest day was the day that she and her beloved were finally allowed to marry, February 13, 2004, when SF Mayor Newsom took a stand for human rights. They waited all day for a marriage license in a line that snaked through City Hall, a space filled with the tangible love and joy of so many other couples who had also been waiting for this day, some for decades.
Marty was funny, generous, fierce, and wise. She also did not take crap from anyone. She was passionate about social justice, nature, music, and people. She loved random road trips with her wife, their trips to Alaska, time with friends, and season seats at both the SF Opera and the West Bay Opera. She enjoyed hosting parties, delighting in introducing friends who she thought should meet. She also enjoyed random strangers. If we lost her in a crowd, she would reappear with an old person attached to her arm who needed support. If asked for money on the street, she would often oblige, ask their names, shake their hands, and wish them well.
Marty always chose to focus on joy and gratitude, right up through her final days. She was grateful for those who guided her through the early years, including her grandparents, Louis and Rose Felder, and her aunt Annette, as well as those she met and loved along the whole of her journey. When her mother, Mary Lou Felder Springer, had brain cancer in 1991, Marty was grateful to be able to care for her, protect her, and come to a place of peace and connection. And as with so many of her experiences, she used what she learned to help others along the path.
Marty’s infectious joy, kindness, and laughter will be remembered and greatly missed by the many friends whom she held so dear.