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Molly A Martinez was born on July 9, 1929 in San Antonio, Texas. She passed away peacefully on June 10, 2026 in her home in San Antonio, TX. She is preceded in death by husband Edmund Ovalle Martinez, mother Ana M. Valdez, sister Minerva Paredes, and brother Frank M. Valdez. Molly is survived by sons, Edmund A Martinez and Eric V. Martinez and daughter Lissa A. Martinez (Brian Hughes). She is also survived by grandsons Richard E. M. Hughes (Austin Grimsman) and Neil E. M. Hughes (Greer Gavin). Molly Valdez was born at the start of the Great Depression and grew up poor, in a multigenerational household in San Antonio. Molly and her siblings walked to school and lived with their grandparents and several aunts and uncles in a small house on W. Martin St. Later in life she noted that there wasn’t always meat, but there was always food, especially fresh vegetables. Her mother Ana Valdez accepted assistance from the neighborhood social services agency House of Neighborly Service and the Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which Molly credits with improving the success of their young lives. Her grateful relationship with both those institutions continued well into her old age. Molly Valdez graduated from Fox Tech Vocational HS in 1947, with excellent grades and well developed skills in tailoring. She held sewing related retail jobs in San Antonio. She was also an officer of Las Leticias, a social club of young working San Antonio women who held dances and other social events. Her friendships with the women from Las Leticias remained strong throughout her life. In 1951, Molly Valdez married Edmund Ovalle Martinez and Molly Martinez travelled to California as a newlywed Marine Corps wife. Of course, military families moved when ordered, so Molly gave birth to their first child in a Marine Corps hospital in N. Carolina, carried their second newborn half way around the world to Australia as an Air Force wife, and delivered their third child while living at Charleston AFB in Charleston, S. Carolina. The Martinez family retired from the Air Force in New Jersey and returned to San Antonio in 1968. Molly had been a “working woman” most of her adult life. In San Antonio, she resumed her civil service career at Kelly Field, in the aviation procurement command. She retired from Kelly Field early in the 1980’s. She was generous with her care and hospitality, welcoming family and her Kelly Field coworkers to years of birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and informal visits. Most people who met Molly were immediately comfortable in her presence. Her grandsons adored her. Molly engaged with life and stayed informed about the world. She listened to jazz and popular music and kept updating herself, through her children and grandchildren, to try to understand the 70’s, the 80’s and each decade since. She furnished her home in modern styles that are now considered “classics”. Molly worked skillfully with color and fabrics, creating clothing, slipcovers, curtains, and items for her home. In retirement, she enjoyed membership in the Greater San Antonio Quilters Guild, making quilts and similar intricate sewing creations. Her tenacity was a strength. In difficult times, she advised us to “take things one day at a time”, which gave us the focus we needed to hang on. Her common sense kept the family out of debt and enabled her to help preserve a good standard of living for her family. Most importantly, Molly Martinez was a good woman, with strong moral values and a lively intellect. She used those traits to navigate successfully through almost a century of changes in her family life and our society. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Molly’s honor to Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church 407 N. Calaveras St San Antonio, TX 78207-2807 210.433-9551 https://www.divineredeemersa.org/ and House of Neighborly Service 407 N. Calaveras St. San Antonio, TX 78207 210.433.2301 https://www.hnstoday.org/

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Molly A. Martinez

July 9, 1929 - June 10, 2026