Obituary- Viola A. Martinez

Viola A. Martinez
dec. 8-22-2012
Viola A. Martinez of Walsenburg passed away August 22, 2012. She was born in Walsenburg, CO in 1927 to Adelina and Cecelio Martinez.
She was preceeded in death by her parents Cecelio and Adelina Martinez, daughter Shirley Hernandez, husband John Martinez, sisters Teresa Trujillo and Dolores Valenzuela, brother Ernest Martinez and brother-in-law Pete Trujillo.
Survivors include daughter, Angela Treece; grandchildren Shirley (Kino) Treece-Herrera, Stacie Arambula, Melissa Torres and Frank Hernandez and great-grandchildren Peter Herrera, Tony Herrera, John Rodriguez, Angelica Herrera, Marisol Herrera, Tyler Arambula, Celene Torres and Christian Torres.
A private memorial service was held Monday, August 27 at Church of God & Christ Jesus Walsenburg.
Viola Martinez was a strong woman who led a full life with many interests and hobbies. Born in Walsenburg in 1927, Viola was the oldest of five children. Due to her father’s illness, Viola lived with her grandparents, which is where she acquired her love for animals and country life. Although she did not reside in the same home as her other brother and sisters, the family was still close and they spent many hours growing up together. When Viola was 19, she met and later married her husband John Martinez. After their marriage, they purchased land in the outskirts of Walsenburg and began their small ranch. During her marriage to John, she had two children, Shirley Ann and Angela.
Viola had many tragic events occur in her life. One of them was the death of her daughter Shirley Ann in a terrible car accident in 1972. Her husband John passed away before his time in 1982 due to illness. She also survived the passing of all of her brothers and sisters. Despite these events, Viola still remained true to her faith in God and never let anything waiver her belief.
After John passed away, Viola continued to maintain their small ranch with help from her remaining daughter Angela, her son-in-law at the time, John, and her brother-in-law, Pete. Although Viola worked extremely hard at the ranch, she still found time to visit sick friends in the hospital and nursing homes. She also spent time cultivating a wide variety of hobbies and interests. She had an innate ability to turn rocks into works of art. To Viola, a simple rock could be transformed into a dog, a turtle, or some other animal. She was able to make elaborate pictures out of scraps of cloth and landscapes of scenes with just rocks and paint. She had a gift for free form painting and sketching as well. Visitors to her house were amazed at her creativity.
She was a lively grandmother and would visit her local grandchildren and great-grandchildren, often. They spent time together playing games, learning how to cook her magnificent dishes, hearing stories, making paper dolls, and roaming the hills of her property.
In her later years, Viola became extremely interested in genealogy. She spent hours researching her heritage and traveling to various libraries in order to find out more about her ancestors. Unfortunately, she was not able to continue her research due to the loss of her eyesight.
The last few years of her life, Viola struggled with many health issues. Despite these issues, she still held on to her strong belief in God. In the end, despite her strength and her beliefs, her medical ailments overcame her. Viola passed away peacefully after a heart breaking stretch of pain and illness on the morning of August 22.
Viola will always be remembered for her strength, creativity, intelligence, and strong spirit. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.