March 24, 1939 – September 5, 2026
Martha was born on March 24, 1939, in Chihuahua, Mexico, to Jose and Concepcion Aguirre. She was the second of five children, alongside her siblings Jose Antonio, Cecilia, Ramon, and Ruben. Martha grew up in Chihuahua, and in her late teens her family moved to Los Angeles, California.
As a young woman, Martha loved spending time with her friends and going dancing with her brother Jose Antonio and sister Cecilia. She worked at the Orpheum Theatre, a popular movie theatre in Los Angeles, and enjoyed the everyday adventures of being young in a Los Angeles very different from today. The family lived in a modest home on Bridge Street in Boyle Heights, near White Memorial Hospital — the house they all knew as Abuelitos'. It was where Martha, her siblings, her children, and all their nieces and nephews gathered together. Abuelito had installed a pool table there and taught every one of his grandchildren to play, making it one of the family's favorite places to be.
In the mid-1960s, Martha met her husband, Patricio, at a wedding — her family were friends of the bride, and he was friends with the groom. They dated for nine months and were married on September 5, 1964. They began their life together in Los Angeles before settling in the City of Pico Rivera, where they raised their four children: Ines, Daniel, Susana, and Maria Elena.
When her children were still in elementary school, Martha began making rosaries to donate to Catholic parishioners — a devotion that would grow into a lifelong calling. Over the years, she handcrafted thousands of rosaries, bundling them into boxes of about 250 and sending them to missionaries around the world, following a list of communities in need that she kept and cared for personally. No one will ever know exactly how many rosaries she made in her lifetime, or the full reach of the impact they had — but it was immeasurable.
Martha lost her beloved husband, Patricio, in January 2020. She spent her final years at Artesia Christian Assisted Living in Artesia, where her warmth and sociability quickly made her many new friends. She passed away on September 5th — what would have been her 62nd wedding anniversary. May she rest in peace, reunited with her husband, Patricio.
Martha is survived by her four children, thirteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
