Guadalupe M. Martinez

Our mother left this world on May 15, 2026 surrounded by the love of her family.

She was welcomed into this world on November 25, 1931 in Merced California by her parents Ramon and Adela Mata. She leaves behind her children; Carmen, Paul, (Jacqui), Steve, (Roberta), Gary, (Gina), Lorraine, (Xocoyotzin), Raina, (Rich), and her sister Adela, (Ralph). Her grandchildren; Steven, (Jackie), Brandon, (Ariel), Matthew, (Bianca), Michael, Emily, Nikki, (Josiah), John, Tomás, Gian Paul, Morgana and her great grandchildren; Simon, Jovanni, Christopher, Ember, Lily and Kiera. She is proceeded in death by her husband Apolinar, parents Ramon and Adela, her siblings Ernest, Peter, Albert, Raymond, Larry, Anita and Mary Louise.

Growing up her family lived near Southside Park and the Our Lady of Guadalupe church the center of many family social events where she ultimately met her husband, Apolinar Martinez.

She recalled with nostalgia the times she spent playing with her cousins who lived nearby, saving a place near the pond at Southside park to watch the fireworks on the fourth of July and making tortillas with her mother waiting for her father to come home from work. She contracted tuberculosis as a teenager, and was separated from her family to live at the Weimar Sanitarium intermittently until she was in her 20’s.

On September 18, 1954 she married Apolinar Garza Martinez in Sacramento at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Southside Park. Their marriage was a partnership of family and business. She was the Chief Financial Officer of their successful farm labor contracting business for 30 years. Their business caught the interest of a researcher at UC Davis who wrote about their business practices. When they retired she began her second career working at Weinstocks and Macy’s in downtown Sacramento. She enjoyed working in retail for 15 years. She had been given multiple awards for outstanding customer service during her career.

She made lifelong friends and memories at Lincoln Middle School, Weimar Sanitarium, Macy’s and while working at the family business.

She was a devout Catholic and a eucharistic minister with her husband for 10 years at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. She loved being with her family, camping, and taking trips to San Diego, and traveling to Hawaii.

We will hold her close to our hearts in this life until we meet again.

Services will be held on June 5th at:
St. Mary’s Cemetery and Funeral Center
6509 Fruitridge Rd., Sacramento, CA 95820

Chapel open to family and friends at 1:30 pm, Rosery at 1:45 pm, Mass at 2:30 pm, and Interment at 4:00 pm
Reception immediately following
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center in the name of Lupe Martinez to https://apps.deloro.org/donate-now

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

When tomorrow starts without me and I’m not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes,
all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry, the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things, we didn’t get to say

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me, I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready, in heaven far above,
And that I’d have to leave behind, all those I dearly love,

It seemed almost impossible, that I was leaving you.
So, when tomorrow starts without me,
don’t think we’re far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I’m right here, in your heart.