Tary Joann Martinez

Tary Martinez, 56, of Cortez, Colorado passed away on December 26, 2018 in Durango, Colorado.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, January 5th, 2019 at Arriola Bible Church located at 15998 Road 22, Dolores. A celebration of life will follow. Arrangements are being made by Ertel Funeral Home & Crematory.
Tary was born to the late Jim and Mary Jo Booth in Jackson, Minnesota on October 27, 1962. She graduated from school at Montezuma-Cortez High School. Tary married the love of her life, Doug Martinez, on June 4 1981. In addition to her family, she was a dedicated employee for Rain for Rent as the Office Manager where she created meaningful relationships with some amazing people who quickly became a second family to her.
Tary and Doug were blessed with the joy of raising their two sons, doing so with patience, discipline and humility. They often took the boys on family vacations to Lake Powell, and over the last few years, the family could always be found in Moab, Utah.
Tary was meant to be a mother, sister, aunt and grandmother. She was kind and always found the time to answer a question or solve a problem, no matter how small. If one thing could be said about Tary, it is that she had a great love of family. Tary’s sons, Mike and Nick, could always count on their mom to be at every band event throughout high school, which is a lot of time considering they were in marching, concert, and jazz band. Eight years ago, Tary became a grandmother, and it was her favorite occupation in life. She doted on each and every one of her grandchildren and took any moment she could to let them know how loved they were. They loved her fiercely in return and will always have wonderful memories of her to guide them throughout their lives. She is and always will be incredibly missed by her family.
Tary is survived by her husband, Doug Martinez; mother and father in law, Rubio and Marge Martinez; son Mike Martinez and his wife, Christa Martinez; son, Nick Martinez and his wife, Cami Martinez; grandchildren, Hailee, Nolan, Mya and Ryan; her sister, Danna and her husband Chris; her brother, James, and his wife, DeeDee; and nieces and nephews, Chelsea, Derek, Roman and Madison.
Tary was a talented baker and cake decorator. Most recently, she made the wedding cake at her niece, Maddi’s wedding, and while she fretted over its perfection, it was made with love and turned out beautifully. She also made the wedding cake for her son, Nick, and many fun and delicious birthday cakes throughout the years.
On top of all of this, Tary always made sure that each of her grandchildren received handmade baby blankets and receiving blankets. It is without doubt that those blankets will be hugged a little tighter now.
Laughter was Tary’s biggest love in life, second only to the love of her husband and family. With Tary around, it was known that everyone would be laughing, joking and enjoying life as much as she did.
Honorary pallbearers are Tary’s grandchildren: Hailee, Nolan, Mya and Ryan.
Tary is preceded in death by her parents, Jim Booth and Mary Jo Booth.