Esther V Martinez

Esther Valenzuela Martinez went to be with the Lord in Heaven on December 9th 2011 at approximately 11:00am. This date is significant as it was 2 years ago to the day that Esther's mother Maria returned home as well. Her family believes her Mother came to take Esther home to be with the Lord. She is predeceased by her parents; Maria Coronado Valenzuela and Joseph Lopez Valenzuela. And her siblings; Jesus Valenzuela, Rodolfo Valenzuela, Josefine Flores, Erminia Villa, Roderick Valenzuela, Irene Valenzuela and Gilbert Valenzuela.

On September 27th 1949 Esther Valenzuela Martinez was born to Maria and Joseph Valenzuela in Phoenix Arizona. She was born the middle child with 10 brothers and sisters around her. She is survived by her children, Gabriel Martinez (Mesa, Az), Alfonso Martinez (Mesa, Az), Victoria Payne (Vine Grove,Ky) and Jessica Balboa (Mesa, Az). Her two sisters Lupe Kramer(Mesa, Az) and Anna Flores (Apache Junction, Az),one brother Reuben Valenzuela (Mesa, Az) and her eight grandchildren, Cameron, Caleb, Cristian, Isabella, Myra, Isaiah, Micah and Irena.

At a young age she began to extend her family by befriending two Lupes both with the last name Tapia. These two friends of hers ignited her adventurous side and the other was her protector. To this day this friendship continued, Lupe Espinoza (the adventurer) and Lupe Tapia Self (my mothers protector). Finding true friends was a core value that was instilled in her children.

Esther loved her family and would extend herself to be available to lend a hand or just a big hug. She was the " fun" Tia taking the older cousins to movies and amusement parks. Then In 1978 she had her first child Gabriel,in 1979 her second Al and In 1992 she extended her family with 2 girls, Victoria and Jessica. Family first she'd say, take care of your brother, take care of your sisters. With the help of "good nana" and our aunt Irena she was able to raise her children effectively.

Esther LOVED to cook, she will always be remembered cooking in the kitchen. Her house always smelled like a restaurant. One of her biggest gifts was having family and friends over and sending them home will full bellies and a plate full of food. Whenever asked what her recipies were, she would always say "a pinch of this and a cup of that." Everything was from memory.

Esther loved her music. Her favorite bands included Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, Bob Seger, Marvin Gay, Al Green, the list goes on and on. We can recall a memory and insert a song that was sung by Esther. Her mantra came from the song "Hey Jude", the verse that Paul sings, " take a sad song, and make it better". We recall always smiling in the face of adversity, and as Esther would say to her last day " where there is a will, there is a way". This was Esther's character, she marched to the beat of her own drum.

The family suggests donations in Esther's honor to Mesa United Way. Please visit www.mesaunitedway.org.