When Alex Martynenko was a graduate student at the University of Michigan, he took a business trip to the Seattle area, visiting famous businesses including Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks.

When he came back, he told his wife, Olga, that they had to move to Washington after he graduated.

“He really wanted to move here,” she said. “It was his dream.”

Olga was shocked. She and Martynenko had come to the U.S. from their native Ukraine for his studies. He had never been to California, Miami, or New York, but he’d created this goal in his mind, she said. She wasn’t even quite sure where Seattle was, so she checked a map.

A motivational speaker and life coach, Olga helped him reach his goal.

Martynenko, 36, of Bellevue, was one of three men who died Saturday after falling hundreds of feet w

See Full Page