As of March 1, the Garlic Capital has a new centenarian.
Cecilia
”
Nana
”
Martinez was born in 1911 in Piru, California, and moved to
Gilroy with her husband, the late Thomas
”
Tata
”
Martinez, in 1945. She has been living in Gilroy for 70 years
and is now surrounded by five generations of family
– all who reside within a five-block radius of her home.
As of March 1, the Garlic Capital has a new centenarian.
Cecilia “Nana” Martinez was born in 1911 in Piru, California, and moved to Gilroy with her husband, the late Thomas “Tata” Martinez, in 1945. She has been living in Gilroy for 70 years and is now surrounded by five generations of family – all who reside within a five-block radius of her home.
Martinez’s great-grandson, 26 year-old Casey Estorga, said the active senior has lived in the same house a couple blocks west of downtown for about 50 years.
Up until a year ago, Martinez – who Estorga noted has never been hospitalized or driven a car – would walk every Sunday to and from Saint Mary Parish at 11 First St. in Gilroy.
Thanks to convenient living proximity, Estorga said the entire family enjoys a customary Sunday dinner every week with their matriarch Martinez sitting at the head of the table.
“Her recipes for chile con carne, enchiladas, tamales and spare ribs continue to be better than any restaurant, anywhere,” he wrote proudly in an e-mail Monday.
In addition to being a devout Catholic, Estorga also noted Martinez is a “die-hard” San Francisco Giants fan.
With the help of Estorga’s friend and Gilroy native Bobby Baksa – a community relations assistant for the San Francisco Giants – the team sent a happy birthday gift package to Martinez in commemoration of her 100th birthday.
“She watches all of their baseball games on TV and can talk the game with regards to why a pitcher is having trouble throwing strikes or why a hitter is always getting out,” Estorga wrote. “It is quite the sight to sit with her watching a game and seeing her moan and groan with all of the excitement included in every pitch. To this day, I’ll join her for breakfast and it never fails that we sit at the table together and talk Giants baseball.”
Estorga wrote although Martinez is in relatively good health, she wasn’t feeling quite well enough to attend her own party.
However, “as the family gathered throughout this past week to celebrate her birthday,” he noted, “it was apparent that Cecilia was, without a doubt, the greatest example of love we have ever seen.”
Estorga said what his great-grandmother loves most as she celebrates her 100th birthday, is “she gets to continue in sharing time with her loving family.”
