Maria Leonida Martinez, nee Balboa Serrano, 84, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, died on Saturday, October 24, 2020. She was at the home of her daughter, whose family brought her to the San Bernardino National Forest to care of her until she passed away from complications caused from contracting
Covid-19.
She is survived by her son, Reynaldo Serrano (Aleli) of Olympia, WA; her daughters Maria Martinez (Brian Gresham) of Rio Rancho, NM; Maura Krista of Culver City and San Bernardino, CA; and Annette Martinez (Jeff Sumlin) of Martinsburg, WV and Albuquerque, NM; her grandchildren Tiffany Williams, Rex, Rachel and Ranele Serrano; Aaron, Shane, Brandon and Brianna Gresham, Elizabeth and Emilianna Krista and their siblings Michael, Auna Leigh and Richard Monson and Elycia Martinez-Davis and lastly, her great-grand son Panashe Chekenyere (Emilianna).
She was preceded in death by her husband of 25 years, Thomas Robert Martinez, of Santa Fe, NM; a son Boy Serrano of Manila, PHL; her parents (below) and her brothers Modesto and Lecerio Balboa Serrano, and her sisters Natividad Serrano Magtoto and Avelina Serrano Tandiama, all of the Philippines.
She was born on April 25, 1936 in the Santa Cruz district of Manila on the Island of Luzon, PHL to father Macario David Serrano of Betes Pampanga, PHL and mother Tarcila Serrano nee Vergara Balboa of Apalit Pampanga, PHL
As a child in the Philippines during WWII, she said her family escaped the ravages of war because her father worked for the railroad and they rode the rails to different parts of the country to escape the fighting. Because they escaped the fighting, it did not mean they did not suffer. Her mother died during this time. Mom once said that her mother died of malnutrition because she gave up her food portions so that her five children would survive. Her father married a younger woman after the war thinking that his children needed a mother, but the step-mom catered to her own children and ignored mom and her siblings. She said that her siblings morally supported each other.
Not much is known about her time between the remainder of her childhood and meeting her husband, Thomas when she worked in the records department at Clark Air Force Base on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They married in1962. She never talked about it, but she gave birth to two sons.
She graduated from the Angeles Fashion School of Manila in of Dec 1963 with two diplomas. One in Beauty Culture and another in Hair Science. In 1976, she received her HS diploma from SHAPE, American school in Mons, Belgium.
As a military spouse, she lived in Turkey, Belgium and multiple cities in the USA. She made fast friends. She kept in touch with most of them until death. Because many friends were named Maria, she also was called, Leonida, Lucy, Nida or Leony. During Thomas’ time in the service, she explored her creative side found she was a natural at any endeavor. She crocheted and decorated cakes at home. She took ceramics, tin design, photography, and tennis classes and bowled in the women’s league. She joined clubs, and volunteered on the base and socialized with her new friends. While living Belgium she met the wife of the Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands. She and Thomas would go to fancy parties dressed in formal attire and have the time of their lives. In 1979 Thomas retired from the Army and the family moved to the South Valley of Albuquerque, NM. It was during the recession when Thomas was underemployed, that Maria went to work to help the family make ends meet. Within weeks of moving to the South Valley, because she would talk to anyone, she became part of a group of ladies that would meet twice weekly to play cards. In 1985, Thomas got a job with the State Department in the Secret Service and she was off to travel the world. Thomas died in 1987 in Australia, and Maria settled in Albuquerque. She was 50 years old. She volunteered at the KAFB Widows Association, the St Charles Book Nook, the Madonna House, and the Senior Affairs Department for the city of Albuquerque. She took drawing and painting lessons. She was really good for a beginner. She walked the track at RGHS and then moved to walking Isleta Blvd, carrying a baseball bat for protection. She loved to dance, especially to “Spanish Music” as she called it. She went to every dance at the Church Fiestas, Solo Club, American Legion, the Post 99, Post 13 and the Senior Citizens Centers.
She also made a decision to downsize so she would not have to work. She sold her big house and lived a smaller life. She saved her money and she and her friends would go on a yearly big cruise to places like Europe, Asia or Alaska. When they did not go on a big cruise, she might take two smaller ones to the Caribbean.
Maria was a Fashionista. Even into her eighties she almost never left the house without wearing a pretty blouse, a hair bow, tons of jewelry, and a full face of make-up. She never wore flat shoes, except to exercise, because she didn’t like the way they fit on her feet.
She treasured her friends. All of them. She had so many. She was well liked. Even when she got sick, so many friends from her past and present lives would call her to speak to her. Until the day she unexpectedly died - her lungs gave out, she was alert, coherent and talkative.
With her family scattered across the United States, and the pandemic still a threat, there has not yet been a time that they can all meet in New Mexico together. As a result she has not been laid to rest with her husband Thomas in the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Please check back here periodically for updates. As soon as there is a burial date, we will post it here and place a notice in the Sunday edition of the Albuquerque Journal.
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