Martha Prieto Hernandez

Martha Prieto Hernandez was born on April 1, 1938, to Teodoro Prieto and Martha Lopez. She was born in East Los Angeles, California or “East LA” as she would call it. Our mom was proud of her East LA roots and when you asked her where she was from, she would respond, “I’m from East LA” and sometimes she would sing the lyrics from the Cheech and Chong song, “Born in East LA.”

She was the oldest of four children: Anna Maria Prieto, Theodore “Ted” Prieto and Genevieve Prieto. At a young age, she lost her mother to cancer and had to help her father raise her two younger siblings.

Martha attended Our Lady of Soledad Elementary School and is she graduated from Our Lady Queen of Angels High School in 1956. She was a proud Mariner and would often get together with her classmates. At their reunions, she and her friends would catch up and reminisce about old times. Before the reunion event ended, they would gather for a group photo and proudly sing their school’s Alma Mater. They knew all the words; no cue cards needed and sang it for all to hear.

Her good friend Sally helped her get her first job at Dunn and Bradstreet. In the early 1970’s she began working for the Los Angeles Unified School District as an accounting technician. She worked at Euclid Elementary before moving on to the East LA Occupational Center and retired in 2003 after 32 years of service with the district.

Our mom’s hobbies included watching and listening to Dodger games, crocheting, traveling, listening to music, rooting for the Lakers, Norte Dame and UCLA. In 2014, she added a new role to her life – becoming grandma to Lola Marie and in 2019 becoming grandma to Adrian Louis. She always said that they are the greatest gifts she ever received, and she is their biggest fan.

Martha is preceded in death by her parents, Teodoro and Martha Prieto, her sister Genevieve and her husband Louis Edward Hernandez

Martha is survived by her daughters Monica, Ann, son in law Chris, grandchildren Lola and Adrian, her sister Anna Maria, her brother Ted, niece Corlei, nephew Ryan, and stepdaughter Lisa. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews from her husband’s family.

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” ~Mahatma Gandhi