Jose de Wit
SUN Staff Writer
4/9/09
Beatrice Quintana Martinez remained fiercely loyal to the Española Senior Center until the day she died.
She insisted on serving food there, day in and day out, even in the wake of a heart attack, her son, Leroy Martinez said. And she insisted on clocking in for a full workday Oct. 20, 2008, the day she would die of a second heart attack at her son’s home. She was 76.
“After she got sick the first time, I went and told them she wasn’t going to be able to keep working there,” Leroy Martinez said. “She got mad at me. She loved it there so much, she didn’t even take time off to recover.”
A ceremony March 31 that changed the Center’s official name from “Española Senior Stroke Center” to the “Beatrice Quintana Martinez Senior Center,” ensured that her memory will be entwined with her former work place from here onward.
Quintana Martinez worked for the city 19 years, and he was a cook at the Center for the last 12 of those, Center Director Josephine Velasquez said.
The City Council approved the name change in November in response to a petition that collected about 500 signature, Velasquez said.
About 200 people attended the dedication ceremony, which included a performance by the Española Valley High School mariachi band, attendees said.
“You know how things get tense sometimes at work?” Velasquez said. “Beatrice was the friendly one. She’s the one who would break the ice.”
Leroy Martinez recalled his mother’s enthusiasm for the job and attention to detail, saying she had learned to anticipate seniors’ appetites so she could serve her more voracious customers an extra bun or two.
“She really cared for those seniors, even though she was one herself,” he said.