There is no greater love than that of a mother and her child. Diana L. Martínez, 80, exemplified this love up to the last minutes of her life and struggle with dementia on January 2, 2024, in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Diana was born on November 29, 1943, to Clarence J. & Clara W.S. Hiltenburg in Portsmouth, VA. After graduating from Smithton High School, Smithton, MO, in 1961 where she lettered in Music and Volleyball, Diana studied Merchandising-Textiles and Clothing at the School of Home Economics at the University of Missouri.
After completing 53 hours of coursework, Diana moved from Colombia, Missouri to Kansas City where she worked at the Katz’s store in Metcalf South Shopping Center in Overland Park, KS as a clothing department manager.
In 1969, Diana met Phil Martínez who was her next-door neighbor in a duplex they shared in Grandview, MO. They wed in 1970 and had two children, Aaron P. Martínez and Díana S. Martínez.
Diana worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Nursing Department at Avila University and then the University of Kansas City, MO (UMKC) until she retired in 2013.
Diana loved to sing and listen to music. She would sing while she washed the dishes, a habit she learned as a child from her life on their family farm, in Sedalia, MO. Late in life, she sang to express needs she could not describe and to bring herself peace.
Diana was a stylish lady. She loved orange and bright colors, wearing jewelry, and very feminine attire. She was adamant that you should never leave the house without a slip and in your best clothing because “you never know who you will meet along the way.”
Diana was predeceased by her parents: Clarence & Clara Hiltenburg, her siblings Gloria Prater and Robert Hiltenburg, her son Aaron Martínez, and her ex-husband Phil Martínez. Diana is survived by her sister Virginia Ross, her daughter Díana S. Martínez, her grandson Cristían Amaro, and his father Samuel Amaro.
The family requests that all flowers and notes be sent to Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home. There will be a funeral service on January 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64131.
