Martha Deliacir Sama

Martha Vivar Sama, 92, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2026 in Morris County, New Jersey, surrounded by the love she spent a lifetime giving away. She was born in Lima, Peru on December 5, 1933, the fifth of six children born to Manuela and Daniel.

Martha grew up in Lima alongside her sisters Tula, Edita, Lola, and Antoinetta, and she learned what family meant from her mother. Manuela was the center of Martha’s world, the person she loved most and longest, and everything Martha would later become as a mother herself she traced back to her. The five sisters shared everything: their secrets, their laughter, their fierce and unwavering defense of one another. That bond never loosened. Across decades, countries, and thousands of miles, Martha carried her sisters with her everywhere she went. She spoke of them constantly and proudly.

In 1959, Martha and Manuela moved to New York City together — mother and daughter, starting over in a new country side by side. In 1960 her son Jimmy was born, and from then on Martha’s life had two hearts at its center: the mother who raised her and the son she was raising. She worked as an executive secretary for thirteen years and gave everything she had to the two of them. She was, from the very beginning, an independent woman: she made her own way and never once doubted that she could. If anyone could do it, Martha believed, it was her. More often than not, she was right. That quiet, unshakable confidence stayed with her for ninety-two years, and anyone who tried to tell her what she couldn’t do learned quickly not to try again.

It was in New York that she met the love of her life, Victor Sama. In 1972 they moved to Houston, where they built a home and raised their children, James and Melissa, and where they remained side by side until Victor’s passing in 2002. Martha worked as a secretary at Pennzoil before devoting herself full-time to being a mother, which she considered the finest job she ever held.

In 2018, at the age of 85, Martha moved to Mountain Lakes, New Jersey to live with Melissa for the final eight years of her life. They were joyful years. She became a familiar and welcome face at her grandkids’ sporting events and at the local restaurants, where she was known for her quick wit and her warmth. And every single day, her son James called her on her Alexa. He adored his mother, and those calls were the anchor of her days — she waited for them, lit up for them, and never let one pass without telling him she loved him. Distance never came between them for a moment.

Martha was preceded in death by her beloved mother Manuela, her four sisters, and her brother Ernesto. It comforts her family to imagine them all together again, the sisters laughing the way they always did. She is survived by her son James Louis Bacigalupo and his wife Dolores, and their children James Alan and Alicia; and by her daughter Melissa Sama Dunn and her husband Greg, and their children Luke, Wesley, Nico, and Olivia. She leaves behind a family who adored her and who will carry her loyalty, her humor, and her enormous heart forward.

A brief ceremony will be held at Codey & Mackey Funeral Home on Saturday, July 18 at 3:00 pm, 107 Essex Ave, Boonton, NJ 07005. Martha will be buried the following week in Houston, alongside Victor, at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery.

On Thursday, July 16, 2026, Alicia Bacigalupo <[email protected]> wrote:

Martha Vivar Sama, 92, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2026 in Morris County, New Jersey, surrounded by the love she spent a lifetime giving away. She was born in Lima, Peru on December 5, 1933, the fifth of six children born to Manuela and Daniel.

Growing up in Lima alongside her sisters Tula, Edita, Lola, and Antoinetta, Martha learned early that family is not something you have but something you tend — and she learned it from her mother. Manuela was the center of Martha’s world, the person she loved most and longest, and everything Martha would later become as a mother herself she traced back to her. The five sisters shared everything: their secrets, their laughter, their fierce and unwavering defense of one another. That bond never loosened. Across decades, countries, and thousands of miles, Martha carried her sisters with her everywhere she went. She spoke of them constantly and proudly. To know Martha for even an hour was to know their names.

In 1959, Martha and Manuela moved to New York City together — mother and daughter, starting over in a new country side by side. Martha spent the next thirteen years working as an executive secretary, and she devoted herself to her mother in those years with a tenderness that never faded. She was, from the very beginning, an independent woman: she made her own way and never once doubted that she could. If anyone could do it, Martha believed, it was her. More often than not, she was right. That quiet, unshakable confidence stayed with her for ninety-two years, and anyone who tried to tell her what she couldn’t do learned quickly not to try again.

It was in New York that she met the love of her life, Victor Sama. In 1972 they moved to Houston, where they built a home and raised their children, James and Melissa, and where they remained side by side until Victor’s passing in 2002. Martha worked as a secretary at Pennzoil before devoting herself full-time to being a mother, which she considered the finest job she ever held.

In 2018, at the age of 85, Martha moved to Mountain Lakes, New Jersey to live with Melissa for the final eight years of her life. They were joyful years. She became a familiar and welcome face at her grandkids’ sporting events and at the local restaurants, where she was known for her quick wit, her warmth, and a kindness toward her grandchildren that made every one of them feel like the favorite.

Martha was preceded in death by her beloved mother Manuela, her four sisters, and her brother Ernesto. It comforts her family to imagine them all together again, the sisters laughing the way they always did. She is survived by her son James Louis Bacigalup and his wife Lola, and their children James Alan and Alicia; and by her daughter Melissa Sama Dunn and her husband Greg, and their children Luke, Wesley, Nico, and Olivia. She leaves behind a family who adored her and who will carry her loyalty, her humor, and her enormous heart forward.

Martha will be buried alongside Victor on Friday, July 24, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery, 12800 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77077.