Martha Sandoval Dekanich

Martha will always be remembered for her absolutely infectious brilliant smile and her take-no-prisoners attitude when it came to defending God, her family, friends and what she believed in. She experienced more of life’s challenges by the age of 10 than most people do in their lifetimes. She split much of her childhood life in Juarez, Mexico between her mother and loving grandmother who taught her strong willed independence, fairness, patriotism and family loyalty. She was self-taught in the English language by the time she was sixteen at which time she also travelled 200 miles into Mexico to free her two sisters from an orphanage and adopted them along with her first husband.

For many years, Martha served alongside her second husband, Bill, as a loving and loyal soldier’s wife who was an integral part of the Army team that produced an illustrious career. She never was one to shy away from hard work and worked numerous jobs while her husband pursued a commission in the United States Army. She worked as Assistant nurse at an Edmond nursing home, Chief positions at McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Military Thrift Shops, and Dollar Stores including managing her own Arts and Crafts and Army Quarters cleaning businesses.

Martha was a passionate volunteer for the Red Cross, the Fisher House Foundation, the Make a Wish Foundation, and Military Hospitals around the world. She loved listening to music especially Mariachi Music and any country music with Johnny Cash. She was a fantastic gardener, loved fishing, and she spent many fond hours watching her wild animals, butterflies, and birds that graced her back yard. It was so beautiful that the National Wild Life Federation certified her backyard as an official Wildlife Habitat. She also loved to cook and was exceptional in serving the best Mexican, American, and Puerto Rican cuisine in the family. And much to the chagrin of her Green Bay Packers loving husband, she was an avid Dallas Cowboy fan. She will be sorely missed by her family and countless friends from all over the world.

Her greatest passion was reserved for her family, especially her grandkids who enjoyed listening to her wild and exciting stories of her childhood in Mexico.

Martha was preceded in death by her parents Federico and Maria Sandoval, brother David Sandoval and sister Micaela Avalos. She is survived by her loving husband and soul mate of 49 years, William M. Dekanich; their four children: William L. Dekanich and wife Stacie, Palmira Campos, Rogelio Campos and wife Kathleen, and George Campos and wife Kathy; their 7 grandchildren: Grayson, Martha, Anthony, George, Tiffany, Isabella, and Nicole; and three great-grandchildren, Brynn, Blayndon, and Tristan. She is also survived by her sisters Teresa Vega, Inez Sandoval, Ramona Campos, and Maria Wright and brother Arthur Cadena.