2020/08/obit-salvador-martinez-pic-219x300.gifSalvador Martinez, age 96, passed away on Wednesday, July 29, in Pagosa Springs, Colo. He was born on May 12, 1924, in New Mexico to Ralph and Antonina Martinez. He attended school until the fourth grade when he left the classroom and began what would become a lifelong love of the outdoors by helping his father tend sheep. He married Theresa Lydia Gallegos and together they raised four children.
Salvador enjoyed the outdoors and spent his working years working irrigation, herding sheep, working at local ranches and working at the local sawmill. He loved fishing, hunting and spending time with his family. He often told stories about the adventures he had while working and spending time in the San Juan Mountains. He loved his home of Pagosa Springs and had many friends and family and deep ties to the community. In his later years, he cherished spending time visiting with friends and family in his home and talking to loved ones on the phone.
When you visited Salvador in his home, you could always be assured you would spend time sitting at the kitchen table, often eating homemade French fries, sopapillas, beans and green chile. He would often tell stories about the pictures hanging on his living room walls of all the extended family. Always one for a bargain, he enjoyed spending time attending auctions, going to antique stores and finding other’s old treasures at yard sales.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Antonina; his wife, Theresa; and his sister, Aurora. He is survived by brothers Ray and Albert (Angie); and sister Lydia; children Melinda (Roger), Nina (James), Tomas (Kathy) and Salvador; grandchildren Jeremiah, Jessica, Makala (Jesse) and Tyler (Sarah); great-grandchildren Bella, Dominic, Sophia and Opal; many nieces, nephews and cousins. He will be missed by his large family, friends and life-long neighbors in the Pagosa Springs community.
Services will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Pope John Paul II Catholic Church, 353 S. Pagosa Blvd., Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. The Rosary will begin at 10 a.m., with the Funeral Mass immediately following. Burial will follow at Hilltop Cemetery. Seating in the sanctuary will be limited to immediate family (up to 50 people) to maintain social distancing and masks will be required. The service can be viewed online, on YouTube, and at https://www.youtube.com/user/thehoodmortuary/videos.
