Marlin Crawler mournfully announces the passing of Marlin Czajkowski

Marlin Czajkowski (1955-2023)

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

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

 

I did not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Marlin but his footprint in the community is massive. It made a lot of people to realize that you don’t need massive engine or power to be able to crawl around and have fun. Godspeed and big hug to the family.

 

Godspeed Marlin.

I hope your family finds comfort knowing how much he touched so many lives.

 

Sorry for your your family’s loss, my sincerest condolences.

 

So sorry. Met the man several times up on the Rubicon. Was the most helpful and generous man. RIP the legend.