In Memory of John Marckworth
On March 10, 2024, the PTSW community unexpectedly lost one of the school’s founders, John Marckworth. You can read about John’s life in the Port Townsend Leader, here. John’s friends and PTSW co-founders Tim Lawson and Jim Tolpin, would also like to share some memories of him.
From Tim Lawson:
Back in 2005, I was the new kid in town, I’d arrived in late 2004. I was busy setting up my shop, figuring out tools, and what the heck I was going to make. I was also very hesitant to reach out to the woodworking community until I’d established myself.
My wife met John and, as was usual, he extended a generous invitation to visit him in his shop. John could not have been warmer or more inviting. It was inspiring to see just how functionality he crammed into his basement shop. I and many others had our minds boggled by the fact that he had 13 vacs and dust collectors to make everything work!
John was always generous with his time, advice, and his reach into the community of woodworkers. I credit John with starting my relationships with the many great woodworkers in our community who begat the SplinterGroup and formed the foundation for the Woodworking School.
John, Jim, and I got together to start the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in early 2007. As Jim has observed the three founders really complemented each other with the skills they possessed. John enjoyed complicated projects, managing details, and using his amazing network of contractor friends to bring everything together.
Scrubbing out Building 315.
John thrived on getting projects done. He organized the build-out of the bench room in Building 315 at Fort Worden to become the first home for the school. He juggled the intricacies of the permit, electricians, painting, and a team of volunteers to get the School open on March 8, 2008. John built all the cabinets for the workbenches and the sharpening stations that still grace the shop. One weekend we blinked and the wood storage cabinets appeared
John saw the opportunity to teach cabinetmaking through projects at the School and at Fort Worden. The School gained a sink-room, kitchen, and restroom cabinets. All designed with gusto and style. Several of the houses on NCO row had new kitchen cabinets built. John ensured that the School always felt like a real place.
John’s project management and shop design talents shone through in two special instances:
In 2010 the School worked on the Windows Project, in partnership with Peninsula College and Fort Worden State Park, to repair and add storm sashes to two buildings at Fort Worden to drive down the heating costs for both buildings. The courses put 85 students through training on historic preservation and window restoration. John was unflappable and in his element, as he co-ordinated the installation of vintage machine tools in Building 304; oversaw the day-to-day running of the shop; and cat-herded the project to completion.
First Quick Joinery Class.
In 2013 the Porch Furniture project, in partnership with the Fort Worden Public Development Authority, was set up to build the benches, chairs, and tables for the porches of the Officers Row houses. The budget included funding to start equipping what became the machine room in Building 304. This was the first phase of creating what was to become a fabulous teaching space.
Then in 2016, John led the next step in the development of the 304 machine as we geared up to add the second 12-week intensive in furniture making. John designed and oversaw the installation of a dust collection system, new machine tools, workbenches, and storage. Though the shop has continued to grow and adapt to the increased teaching needs, the work that John did continues to benefit our students and alumni.
The School has lost a great friend, founder, and supporter in John but his dedication to building the physical infrastructure of the School leaves us with a huge and wonderful legacy. We’ll miss his humor, presence, and big smile. John was the heart of the School.
The first Founder Award, Kate Burke.
From Jim Tolpin:
I first met John about 40 years ago when I noticed a guy doing bike repair in a garage on the same block I was living on in uptown PT. I brought my bike to him for a long-needed adjustment and came away with a well-tuned bike…and a life-long friend.
We quickly discovered that we both enjoyed woodworking (not to mention an unrelenting habit of making bad puns). We shared our mutual interest in developing and setting up jigs and fixtures as well as our all-too-obvious need to upgrade our hand tool sharpening skills. That brought us to talking about getting a small group of woodworkers together to host a “guild” meeting where we could bring in guests to demo sharpening and various other woodworking skills and techniques. In addition to hosting several more of these meetings, we decided to celebrate Port Townsend’s woodworking community by putting on the “Woodworker’s Ball--A Black Tie and Carhartt Affair”.
Tim Lawson, Jim Tolpin, and John Marckworth in 2007.
The guild meetings and dances dissipated after several years, but they planted a seed that would, decades later with the partnering up with Tim Lawson, result in the establishment of the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. It was an exceptionally productive collaboration: I focused on developing some of the core curriculum; Tim single-handedly created the school’s business entity; and John threw himself into doing what he loved best: Designing and building an efficient and pleasant shop space.
Though John is now gone, his heart remains in the ongoing contributions of the school to advance and disseminate skill and craft to the woodworking community while his friendship and humor continue to have a home in mine.