Topic: We mournfully announce the passing of Marlin Czajkowski

[BigMike]

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Marlin Czajkowski (1955-2023)

It is with immense sadness we announce the passing of our beloved Marlin Czajkowski on Thursday, March 9^th.

Marlin and Christine (married 47 years) were on a short Mexican Riviera cruise with their two best friends having a fun and relaxing time together. On the last night at sea, Marlin peacefully passed while sleeping.

For more than 15 years, Marlin has had a known heart disease. During the past 2 years his heart condition became an issue and he has been trying different medication to treat it. He was scheduled for open heart surgery this spring.

Marlin (67) is survived by his wife Christine (69), daughter Chrystal (44), and myself, Michael (42). I am sorry for the delay in composing this letter. It has been an extremely emotional and difficult time for not only the family but also our employees, many of whom were raised in large parts by Marlin. Indeed, many here have accumulated more time with Marlin than with their own fathers. Marlin has always been a loving, genuine, honest, and extremely hardworking father and teacher of unequaled automotive and Toyota knowledge to us all.

Since I took over as president in 2010, Marlin has been able to step away from all administrative duties and has been semi-retired since 2017 when he established a small side shop known as Marlin's Toy Works, Inc. (MTW) Enjoying the early days of his golden years, Marlin has been doing the things he loves most: Working on various car & truck projects, doing a lot of advanced machine work, masterfully rebuilding old & obsolete Toyota carburetors, and treating people like family!

As a person of faith, I take great comfort knowing Marlin is currently asleep, waiting for God's alarm clock where his next conscience moment will be at Jesus' second coming. I look forward to seeing a younger, vibrant Marlin and to share all that he will miss since falling asleep out at sea!

To the man who literally created the Rock Crawling Industry, who proudly desired "respect for Toyota's" and who "put Toyota's on the map", Thank You Marlin. Thank You for your unwavering hard work and dedication to all of us and to your countless inventions and contributions to the Toyota brand on a world-wide scale. Thank you Marlin. We will see you again soon!

Twenty-nine years ago Marlin created Marlin Crawler with his desire to help people, and we are proudly continuing with the same morals, enthusiasm, trust & confidence he instilled in me to carry his legacy onto the next generation of off-road enthusiasts around the globe.

Once a living legend, now a legend for all eternity. Thank you, Marlin.

— Michael 'BigMike' Czajkowski





Celebration of Life (ETA summer/fall)

We are planning to have a Celebration of Life service for Marlin here in the Central California area sometime later this summer or fall.

Our family has a lot to process and based on how famous Marlin is an event like this will require a large venue and a lot of preparation.

Marlin has made friends and touched lives from all over the nation as well as from other countries, so we will be sure to provide sufficient time to prepare for travel arrangements. We will announce updates in future Newsletters as well as on social media.





Please Share your Story of Marlin

Marlin was an incredible husband, father, and man.

Through him, I have been fortunate to meet an insane amount of people, domestically and internationally, and have never met anyone as selfless, giving, with as good a memory, or with as large a heart as Marlin.

His accolades are so great and many and known world-wide. In short, Marlin was a true generational figure. A true inspirational genius.

He introduced me to off-roading at the early age of 3 and I have endless, amazing, and incredible stories and experiences that I have always wanted to put in a book to give to my Dad.

So now more than ever I would like to collect and publish stories of Marlin! Nearly everyone I speak to has a vivid memory of when and where they first met Marlin. He truly made an impression on many people, and a collection of stories and pictures of Marlin helping and touching the lives of countless people is long overdue!

Please click the below link to submit your story of Marlin, how you got to know him, or how his inventions enabled you to reach new trails & access places you never thought possible before!

MarlinCrawler.com/stories





Thank you a million times for everything...

Thank you, Dad. See you again soon!

— BigMike and Team Marlin Crawler





Please click here to have your unique "Marlin Story" added to Marlin's book!




This year marks the 40th anniversary with the very same 1980 Toyota pickup

[TimberlineBryce]

The definition of a legend. A pioneer of Toyota and rock crawling. A true off-road enthusiast that would do anything to help you. A dear friend who i will truly miss. I will forever be grateful for everything you did for me and my family and friends. He was like my second dad, i would call or text him whenever i had a question and he was so generous with his time whenever i would stop by. Thank you for everything Marlin! You will be dearly missed! Until we meet again…wheel in peace.🙏🙏🙏✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻

[Bubs503]

Marlin was truly an inspiration to everyone in the off-road community. Watching his crawler truck and Mikes on YouTube when I was in high school motivated me to buy and build my first gen 10 years ago. I’ll never sell it! Thanks again Marlin and everyone at Marlin Crawler for everything! Rest in peace! 

[BudKing]

Very well said Mike

I was fortunate to have known Marlin and his family for over 20 years.
I have not reached out to the family as of yet as I can only imagine the shock, grief and over whelming affect and everyone wanting to reach out to you.
Your family have been in our families thoughts and prayers daily.

Marlin was truly one of a kind

Marlin is a legend!
His legend will go on forever
We will truly miss him
Mike

[Sean King]

So saddened to see this news.  Marlin will be dearly missed.  Truly one of a kind and a legend that really pushed this sport to new heights.  Brilliant mind; big, beautiful heart; kind to a fault. 

[*FFC*]

Marlin was a very special person. Not many celebrities were as humble as Marlin was! Mike, my heart breaks for you and your family. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[H8PVMNT]

Marlin was one of the best men.  One or my personal heros.  Always willing to help. An example to us all.  Rest in peace Marlin.  Mike God bless you and your family in this tough time.  Nice to know we will see Marlin in eternity.  Thank you for letting us know.

[Cheesemaker]

Very well said Mike

I was fortunate to have known Marlin and his family for over 20 years.
I have not reached out to the family as of yet as I can only imagine the shock, grief and over whelming affect and everyone wanting to reach out to you.
Your family have been in our families thoughts and prayers daily.

Marlin was truly one of a kind

Marlin is a legend!
His legend will go on forever
We will truly miss him
Mike

I remember buying your spare stock front axles one time I was in Fresno, and we met at the shop after hours.  And Marlin showed us how to check for cracks in the bells.  And even tho I agreed to the $100 price, I remember he talked you down to $90 to me.  But I only had a $100 bill, so you gave me what you had was $9.  And Marlin gave me a single $1 bill.  I wish I had him sign it, because I still have that $1 hidden in my wallet to this day.  Boy, we chatted for like an hour, and the stories you and him were telling about each other, made me feel like I knew both of you for a long time.  Marlin had that ability to make you feel like family. 

[83Camo]

I would have enjoyed knowing him , Take to heart and Best of Living Life to the fullest to the family.... to you all !!!
Respectfully, Johnny

[BudKing]

I remember buying your spare stock front axles one time I was in Fresno, and we met at the shop after hours.  And Marlin showed us how to check for cracks in the bells.  And even tho I agreed to the $100 price, I remember he talked you down to $90 to me.  But I only had a $100 bill, so you gave me what you had was $9.  And Marlin gave me a single $1 bill.  I wish I had him sign it, because I still have that $1 hidden in my wallet to this day.  Boy, we chatted for like an hour, and the stories you and him were telling about each other, made me feel like I knew both of you for a long time.  Marlin had that ability to make you feel like family. 

Hey Ryan, hope all is well with you yeah I remember that  it was great meeting you and it was a lot of fun. That’s been quite a while ago time flies still haven’t got back up to the Tillamook area but one of these days.   when Marlin was relaxing or sitting around the campfire he was quite the character.
I will truly miss our banter  between us.
Mike

[Cheesemaker]

Hey Ryan, hope all is well with you yeah I remember that  it was great meeting you and it was a lot of fun. That’s been quite a while ago time flies still haven’t got back up to the Tillamook area but one of these days.   when Marlin was relaxing or sitting around the campfire he was quite the character.
I will truly miss our banter  between us.
Mike

Things have been rough the last couple years, but I am alive.  Yeah, I loved stopping by the shop, and sometimes Marlin would fly off the handle about how I was bothering them, but then Dave would say, "Hey Marlin, show him X!" and then he would get all excited and would drag out whatever X was, and then hours would pass you buy while he explained every bit of history about it.  I wished I got the off work Marlin. 

I just remembered Marlin telling the story about how he and Christine went to Florida, with a digital camera.  And somehow he thought that at the end of the day, he had to delete the photos to get them to transfer to the computer, or something like that.  They said that they all had a great laugh about it later.