Marta Lia Gorchs

Her early childhood was defined by serious respiratory ailments - at one point her parents were told she should be kept at home and treasured for whatever time she might have left, as she was not considered likely to survive her early years. Nevertheless she recovered, and was able to return to school despite her health concerns. She received her undergraduate degree in Literature (Profesora de Letras) at the Escuela Normal Superior de Profesores Dr. Alejandro Carbó (Córdoba, Arg.) in 1952, and she began her career as a teacher.

As a young woman she met Fernando Agustín Gorchs, a medical student who asked her to dance at an event at the Jockey Club of Córdoba. They reportedly danced for hours that night. She began teaching High School while Fernando finished his studies in Italy and then in England, and upon his return to Argentina he asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed. On November 20, 1954 the two were married in Córdoba, Argentina. Shortly thereafter they travelled to the United States and started a family. They raised 5 children as they moved across the United States from Tacoma, WA to Louisville, KY and finally to Houston, TX. During those years Marta and her husband lost two children to Cystic Fibrosis. In the mid-1970’s, with five children at home, she began studying at Rice University, and she earned a Master of Arts on May 8, 1976. She started as Associate Professor of Spanish Literature at Rice University, also at the University of Houston, and later with the University of Texas School of Public Health. After her husband retired from his medical practice, they moved to Austin. She taught Spanish at Austin Community College until 2010, retiring at age 82. Marta was always very animated and engaged when teaching and she had a lifelong love of learning. She always seemed to be reading something new. She will be remembered for her love of reading, her sense of humor, and her love for cooking, for the arts and for the drama of daily life itself.

Marta was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend and always seemed to be recounting a new story about one of her beloved children, grandchildren, or friends, who were at the center of her life.

Marta is survived by: Son, Fernando (Diane), Daughter Patricia (Michael), Sons Thomas (Raiza), Andrew (Teresa); also by her 5 grandchildren, Austin, Roman, Elaina, Lia and Allison; by her sister, Maria Teresa Gil Montero, as well as by numerous nieces and nephews and their offspring in Alexandria, VA; San Diego, CA; and Cordoba and San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina.

Marta was preceded in death by: Mother, María Magdalena Greca, Father, Federico Raimundo Chamorro, Husband, Fernando Agustin Gorchs, M.D., Sons, Martin Frederick and Charles Albert, and Daughter, Martha Jean, also Siblings Hilda Eva Chamorro de Prado and Carlos Federico Chamorro.

Special thanks to the angelic caregivers who attended to Marta so lovingly during her final days, Yareli, Abigail, Julissa and Martha.

All are welcome to celebrate Marta’s life at a Memorial Mass at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 4311 Small Drive, with Rev. Larry Covington celebrant. The Mass will be followed by a private family burial.

In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make donations to MD Anderson Leukemia Department in Houston (gifts.mdanderson.org) or to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation ( https://www.cff.org/ ), as Marta’s deceased children suffered from those illnesses.