with kidney and prostate cancer. He left behind his beloved wife of 62 years, Margaret;
three children - Tommy (Tracy), Maricela (Marc) and Susie (Jesse); and three grandsons -
Victor, Nigel (Destiny), and Joaquin. Our Dad died knowing he was a loved and cherished
man.
As children, we heard Dad’s stories of his youth. He told us how he grew up on the
northside of Denver and was one of fourteen children. He told us how he left school in his
early teens to haul brick by hand; how he began driving a truck before he could get a
license; and, at this early age, made deliveries when his dad was sick. He told us how he
saved up for the first motorcycle he purchased at the Denver Federal Center and then
played baseball on that motorcycle with his uncle and friends - yes, they actually played
baseball while riding their motorcycles! He talked about how he skied on skis that didn’t pop
off when you fell and how he and his friends would feast on pilfered Italian sweetbread and
lemon pie from the northside (but assured us the owners knew and put these items out for
them). We may have thought his stories of his youth were twisted by memory and somehow
woven to unreal or exaggerated proportions but even if his stories were only half true, then
he certainly saw and did a lot in his time. He told an enviable tale of doing what he wanted
to do and of a life of hard work made easier by clever and creative thinking.
As adults, we watched our Dad work tirelessly delivering brick, pipe and block to various
customers so that he could provide for us. We rarely saw him take a sick day or complain
about going to work. In the early 1970s, he and his beloved wife, started their own
transportation business, Tom B. Martinez Trucking, Inc. His company transported the block
and brick that helped build some of Denver’s most notable structures such as DIA, Coors
Field, and Denver Public Library, to name a few. He was also one of the few drivers that
many mountain contractors could count on to deliver material, rain or shine, to the rich and
famous. This usually meant deliveries to the high country, as he would refer to it, which
were secluded, narrow, and precarious spaces to reach. Our Dad’s incredible driving skills
and creative thinking helped him in these situations. He was one of the first in his profession
to position machinery, such as a boom lift and Moffet forklifts on his trucks. And, in the
process of all this hard work he’d discover that he was blessed to have found a career that
he would love until the day he passed. Only second to his wife and family, his career and
business was the love of his life and all he could talk about until his last moments on this
earth. You see, our Dad never really retired. In his mind, he was always at his business,
doing what he loved best, driving.
Our Dad naturally gravitated to people and loved to make small talk. He could pick up a
conversation with just about anybody, anywhere. He loved going to the casinos in the hills where he won more than he lost on low-stake slot machine games. His favorites were Buffalo, Panda Fu and Sex in the City. He loved to eat Neapolitan ice cream, turkey necks and anything with a bone. He loved to watch the news, old westerns and war/action movies. He loved to watch football games with his grandson.
He loved his family and wanted them near, and he loved his dogs.
And, we loved him back and will miss him and honor him in our memory every day.
We will be together again.
Rest in peace Papa.
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