Eduardo Martinez Murrieta

1937 - 2013
Eduardo Martinez Murrieta, chef and restaurant owner in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento; devoted husband; loving father; and longtime resident of Roseville, died Oct. 9, 2013. He was 76 years old.

He was born June 19, 1937 near Hermosillo, Mexico. His mother, Felicitas, died after childbirth. His father, Eduardo, was paralyzed in a work-related accident. As a boy, Eduardo Murrieta was taken in by a family friend who he called his aunt for the rest of his life.

As a young man, he worked in restaurants in Mexicali, Tijuana and Mexico City. He cooked for migrant farm workers in California's Central Valley.

He moved to Sacramento in the late 1950s. He worked as a cook at Sacramento restaurants whose names resonate today: Mario's Italian Cellar and Sam's Hof Brau, and later, as executive chef at New Alhambra Cafe, where he created dishes that refined Mexican cuisine, such as crab and crepe enchiladas and carne asada beef Wellington.

Eduardo Martinez Murrieta met Lillian Sanz Contreras at Rancho Grande Cafe in downtown Sacramento in 1962. She was a waitress. He was smitten. They married, raised a family, operated restaurants side by side and remained in love until she died on May 15, 2009.

Their customers will remember them as Eddie and Lily. They opened their first restaurant bearing the Murrieta name in 1979 in Rancho Cordova, followed a decade later by a restaurant in Midtown Sacramento and a deli in Rancho Cordova. In the early 1990s, they opened Murrieta's Cantina in Sparks, Nevada, with a business partner. That restaurant operates today, along with Murrieta's Cantina in Reno. Health issues forced both of their retirements.

Eduardo Martinez Murrieta was a proud man and a strong provider. He sent remittances to his father in Mexico. He cared for his wife until her death, and years afterward spoke of his hunger to be with her again.

In his final years, he suffered from a diabetic infection that resulted in the amputation of his right leg. A man who worked hard until he could no longer work at all, he spent the last year of his life enjoying outings to casinos, restaurants and craft breweries with family.

His cremated remains will be interred, along with his late wife, on Nov. 1 at Roseville Cemetery. In honor of Dia de los Muertos, his favorite pan dulce and coffee will be served. Dinner will follow at Maidu Community Center. Stories of his ancestral connection with California Gold Rush legend Joaquin Murrieta will be shared.

Eduardo Martinez Murrieta is survived by sons Rudy Murrieta of Orlando, Fla., and Ed Murrieta of Sacramento; brother Jose Murrieta of Sacramento; sisters-in-law Amelia (Contreras) Teaman of Sacramento and Tina (Contreras Garcia) Andrade of Roseville; brother-in-law Louie Contreras of Roseville; numerous nieces and nephews in Roseville; and other relatives in Oregon and Washington.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests any contributions in his memory be made to Ageless Alliance, an organization dedicated to combating elder abuse.