Concepcion S. Martinez

Concepción (Concha) Sánchez Martínez, aged 96, of Rockford, Illinois died on February 15, 2026 at Swedish American Hospital. Concha was born on December 8, 1929 in San Martin Texmelucan, Puebla, Mexico. She was the child of Encarnacíon Martínez and Concepción Sánchez Martínez. She immigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s and worked for Warner Lambert Corporation until her retirement.

Concha spent her life caring for others from the time she herself was a child. She helped to raise her younger brothers after the death of their parents. In Rockford, she lived with her brothers Beto and Manuel and helped to raise Manuel’s children. Concha loved to cook and, most especially, to feed her family and friends. Before the ingredients were easy to find in Rockford, she would travel to Chicago to gather everything necessary for her chilaquiles, gorditas, tamales, and other specialties. She was an encyclopedia of past and present Mexican cuisine and presided over many happy gatherings. Until her knees failed, Concha was an avid dancer, especially with her brother Manuel.

Concha was predeceased by her brothers Gilberto “Beto”, Leobardo “Balo”, Manuel, and Albino Sánchez Martínez. Concha is survived by her niece Aida and nephew Víctor (Julia), for whom she was like a third parent, her grandniece Dorothy Ophelia, and her sister-in-law Marcela.

There will be a visitation from 6 to 7 p.m., Friday, February 20th at Sunset Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 8800 North Alpine Road, Machesney Park, IL 61115. A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 21st at Holy Family Church, 4401 Highcrest Road, Rockford, IL 61107, within a visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. A brief entombment ceremony will take place in the Chapel of Love at Sunset Memorial Gardens. A luncheon will follow the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org/) or the Wounded Warrior Project (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/).