Joyce Martinez

Joyce Martinez, 80, our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, sister and aunt gently passed away on Thursday, June 20, 2019, at home. Born Thursday, January 26, 1939, in Bear River, Utah to Mervin and Juanita (Knudson) Anderson. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Richard "Reo" Williams Martinez. She is survived by her brothers, Scott Anderson of Meridian, Idaho and Ross Anderson of Riverdale, Utah; son, Vincent Reo Martinez and his wife, Catherine of Bernalillo, New Mexico; son, Mitchell Craig Martinez and his wife, Ruthi of Henderson, Nevada; daughter, Jacqueline Holeman and her wife, Dave of Poulsbo, Washington; nine grandchildren, Carmen, Richard, Vincent Jr., Cameron, Carl, Peter, Joyce, Avalon, Jamie; 27 great-grandchildren, Danny, Belle, Caity, Matt, Mia, Lily, Ellie, Ben, Patience, Reo, Boyd, Maple Aurelia, Adelaide, Vincent, Brendan, Molly, Penny, Chenchen, Sev, Brynlee, Ryan, Alex, Magnus, Dori, Bernadette, Speedy Ray, and one on the way.

As a child Joyce lived in Bear River, Utah, she attended Bear River school which comprised 8 grades taught by 4 teachers, sometimes 5. The subjects were English, Penmanship, Arithmetic, History and a little Science and Social Studies. She continued her education at Box Elder High in Brigham, Utah and later at Weber High in Ogden, Utah. As Joyce advanced through young womanhood, she became very skilled, not only at sewing her own clothing but also at designing them and making her own patterns. As a teen living in South Ogden, Utah she acquired a job as a waitress at a drive-in hamburger place in Riverdale, Utah, where she meets and eventually married Richard Martinez on January 30, 1957. Joyce and Reo lived in Oakland, California until Reo left the Navy, when they moved back to Ogden, Utah, then later to Roy, Utah. With Reo working with the Government in Civil Service for the Department of Defense, the family moved to Simi Valley, California, then Albuquerque, New Mexico. Later after her children moved on with their own lives, Joyce and Reo moved to Bellevue, Washington and then to Hansville, Washington.

As a young mother and housewife, Joyce would take an occasional job to help support the family. From working in canneries to laundromats to cashier at a local Five & Dime store. Using her design and sewing skills, she would buy a bolt of fabric and make matching dresses for her and her daughter and shirts for Reo and her sons. When her children moved into their teens, while in Albuquerque, Joyce returned for some higher education at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institution where she took Architectural Drafting courses. In those classes she designed a home that she would build and move the family into. Upon completion of the home build Joyce acquired a job with L&M Drafting, a Subcontractor at Sandia National Laboratories. She would eventually move on to employment with Sandia National Laboratories as an Architectural Draftsman. When Joyce and Reo moved to Bellevue she designed her new home and just as she was a young pioneer as a child, she became a pioneer in the newest communication industry, where she designed Cell Towers for US West New Vector. Having the desire to live out on the Puget Sound Joyce and Reo found and purchased a beautiful peaceful property in Hansville overlooking the Sound where she would design and build another home.

Soon after Joyce and Reo finished their home in Hansville, Reo was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Joyce took care of her beloved husband until his passing in their home and in her loving arms on February 1, 2014. Sadly, Joyce later was stricken with Parkinson's disease - Lewy body dementia, which is a type of progressive dementia that leads to a decline in thinking, reasoning and independent function because of abnormal microscopic deposits that damage brain cells over time. Her final years were spent with her two sons.

At her request there will be no funeral services, other than graveside services. Joyce will be interred beside Reo at Hansville Cemetery in Hansville, Washington on Saturday, June 29, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to https://tribute.michaeljfox.org/tribute-page.php?id=1219&np=true