Obituary of Jonathan Moon Stueve Martin

Jonathan Moon Stueve Martin, a.k.a. Jonny Moon, was born Aug. 4, 1984, at Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa. He was widely beloved in Oklahoma and San Francisco, the city he called his home since 2004.

Jonathan loved deeply in return. As news spread of his death, his family became aware that dozens if not hundreds of people across the country considered Jonny their "best friend."

Jonathan was larger than life, and once you met him, you never forgot him. Intuitively funny, witty and observant, he was a superb mimic, with a wonderful laugh that made everyone else laugh.

He had, in the words of his sister, the personality of a benign cult leader. Jonathan was intelligent, authentic, charming and charismatic, with a nonjudgmental nature that was truly rare. He lived his values of equity and compassion for all sentient beings.

In very early childhood, Jonathan began asking the weighty, existential questions usually reserved for later in life. His mother remembers that as a toddler, Jonathan paused during a bedtime story to wonder aloud, would he look back as an old man and feel that he’d lived a happy life? His depth, energy and capacity for concepts beyond his years were astounding. He was constantly in motion and continued to tap, fidget and jiggle even as an adult.

Jonathan lived his life 100% on his terms. At the University School, Holland Hall, Riverfield and Booker T. Washington High School (all in Tulsa), he won the affection of peers and teachers in spite, or perhaps because of his refusal to form himself to convention. He graduated with the class of 2002.

Jonathan loved to debate and could skillfully articulate his point of view from the age of 3. When it came to discussing pros and cons of money systems, Jonathan’s understanding was over most folks' heads, but he could persuade you to buy Bitcoin by the end of the conversation.

He was also passionate about politics and had a gift for predicting the effects of worldwide events. His sister remembers Jonathan calling her, warning of the impending threat of COVID-19 months before it was declared a global pandemic. Recent trends in American politics troubled Jonathan deeply. He was keenly interested in the 2024 election.

Jonathan treasured the beauty of the natural world and its manifestations in human creativity. He loved animals, especially his cat, Poppy, and delighted in engaging with children. Their free actions, speech, humor and spontaneity brought out the child in him.

A prolific bibliophile, Jonathan devoured literature. He loved history, poetry, philosophy, art, horror and science fiction (H.P. Lovecraft and Philip K. Dick in particular), and the classics. He and his mother enjoyed long, meandering conversations over frequent phone calls, often discussing the books they were reading together.

Jonathan loved languages, especially Latin, and studied all religions, with particular fondness for Buddhism. From his mid-20s on, he dedicated himself to practicing kung fu with his favorite teacher, Sifu Hannibal.

Jonathan was tremendously artistic: a painter, musician and writer of songs, poetry and stories. He appreciated all art and could spend days in museums, poring over techniques and information about the artists. He also loved performing and playing music with his alt-country punk band, Vollmer (named for the visionary writer and thinker Joan Vollmer).

For 17 years, Jonathan shared a rent-controlled apartment with devoted friends in NoPa (North of the Panhandle), steps from the towering eucalyptus and Monterey cypress trees of the park. He loved walking in nature and knew all the secret wilderness spots in San Francisco, with Lands End being perhaps his favorite. Jonathan and his father shared many hikes in the city and on their travels together. They especially enjoyed mushroom hunting.

On May 17, 2017, Jonathan's apartment caught on fire, and his hands were severely burned. He was in the Alisa Ann Ruch burn unit for about 3 weeks. A month later, he developed MRSA in his more severely burned hand and was re-hospitalized. This period was pivotal in Jonathan's life.

Burns are distinctly harrowing for all who experience them, and a year without playing guitar, writing or painting was particularly devastating for Jonathan. However, during his stay in the burn unit, he became involved in weekly meetings for burn patients in the hospital and former burn unit survivors. The friendships he forged there were powerful.

We are grateful for the love, support and acceptance the San Francisco burn community and the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation gave Jonathan. He loved his friends in the burn community every bit as much as they loved him, and he remained close with them until his death. As a family, we say thank you to each and every one of you.

The Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation also offered Jonathan much needed psychological help, and we are eternally grateful. Although physically Jonathan recovered, he had emotional and psychological scars that resulted in PTSD, which he struggled with daily. We cannot know the extent this event exacerbated his existing problems but know it was considerable.

Helping others, especially people living with addiction, was paramount to Jonathan. While walking in the city, he emptied his pockets to share what he had with his neighbors living on the streets, never refusing a chance to be generous and kind.

Jonathan was especially passionate about harm reduction policy. He touched the lives of people worldwide as a volunteer, moderating a forum at bluelight.org. In San Francisco, Jonathan worked with Points of Distribution (POD), a harm reduction organization focused on minimizing adverse health outcomes for people with substance use disorders. When Jonathan was doing well himself, this was where his focus lay.

Everyone who knew Jonathan knew very well that he struggled with addiction from his teen years on. Shortly after his 40th birthday, Jonathan reached what could have been a turning point. He decided for the first time that he wanted to seek treatment.

On the precipice of his precious life, Jonathan faced significant barriers to accessing the rehabilitation he needed and was denied care due to dangerous regulatory red tape. His father was on a plane to San Francisco to provide support when Jonathan succumbed on Aug. 28, 2024.

Jonathan was so much more than his addiction. We are shattered by the loss of our darling son, brother and friend and are immensely grateful for the 40 years and 24 days we had with him.

Jonathan is survived by his parents, Carolyn Stueve Martin and Ted Beaumont and Dean E. and Andrea Sanseverino Martin; sister, Elizabeth Ann Martin; and grandmother Maryanna (Moon) Martin; as well as a very large, loving extended family.

Jonathan is also survived by his best friend and roommate, Faith 'Moon;' roommate Shy; band members Jim 'Moon,' Kurt 'Moon' and Nick 'Moon;’ and beloved friends across the country and world.

He was predeceased by his beloved great-grandmothers, Ethel May (Wigley) Whitfield and Ruth Ellen (May) Moon; grandfathers, James L. Martin and Charles C. Stueve; grandmother Mary Lou (Whitfield) Stueve; uncle Mark Vance; cousins Nickolas Anthony Bruno, Caitlin Abernathy and Lily Martin; and many beloved friends.

Jonathan wrote and submitted several songs for the Bob Dylan Center Songwriter Fellowship contest in 2023, including this one:

THOUSAND ROSES

I would move a mountain, baby, I'd move a mountain for you.

And I would pluck 1000 roses darlin' - because one would never do, not for you.

And every day that you're gone. Every day that I'm on my own.

Vague specters of your memory, they flay me to the bone.

I would sail the ocean, baby. I would sail the ocean blue.

And I would navigate by starlight darling until I found the isle of you.

And when I row my boat ashore and build a house with a roof and a floor,

I hope one day I wake up and see you walking through that door.

Hear me now, baby soft and true.

When I tell you that I love you.

And I'm sorry I had to write another song about the bullshit I said I would do...

A celebration of Jonathan's life took place Oct. 27, 2024, at WOMPA in Tulsa. Donations in his honor can be made to the Jonny Moon Harm Reduction Education Fund (https://givebutter.com/olFedy) or the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (https://www.aarbf.org).

Ninde Funeral | Mosaic Memorial Cremation | (918) 742-5556 | ninde.com