Raymond John Martini

1926 - 2008

Ray Martini was born July 14, 1926 in Utica, New York to Mario and Angela Massa Martini. His parents were immigrants from Italy, and were proud to become Americans. He has three younger sisters. His first language was Italian, and he brought English home from school and taught his family. As a boy, he learned to play the trombone, and as a young man, he played as a professional musician, traveling with some of the big bands from St. Louis to New York City. By the time he was seventeen, he had saved up enough money to give his father the down payment to buy a house. He met Donna Draheim in 1950 when they were both working at the Boston Store in Utica. They were married in 1951, and in the next six years had four daughters. They moved to Bakersfield in 1957, with 3 kids, one on the way, $500 and the clothes in their suitcase. They were on the same airplane as the Brooklyn Dodgers when they moved to California to become the LA Dodgers. He was the first operations manager for K-mart in Bakersfield when the 34th Street store opened. When he retired from K-Mart in 1981, he started a second career as a real estate broker. As they approached retirement, Donna was diagnosed with cancer, and Ray had a stroke. When Donna died in 1992, they had just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. His determination and desire to heal helped him through the first stroke, but he was unable to completely recover his speech and mobility after his second stroke in 1999. Ray was a wonderful man and a great example to everyone who knew him. His sense of humor, his incredible work ethic and his strong will were truly passed down to his daughters. He was a kind and considerate person, who loved his family and adored his grandchildren, Robert Mesa III, Brent Davis, Bree Davis, Gina Cervantes, Brian Hemme, Joel Hemme, Dustin Conner, Dylan Conner and Courtney Conner, and his great-grandchildren, Isaiah Hemme, Anna Hemme, Adam Mesa, Madeline Mesa and Jaidyn Conner. One granddaughter, Anna, died in 1999. He is survived by his daughters, Sandy Martini, Susan Hemme and husband, Gary, Shelly Radman and husband, Steve, and Paula Martini; his sisters, Jean Wurz, Edie Santucci and Cynthia Martini. There are not too many men like Ray Martini. He will surely be missed. Memorial service will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church, 4500 Buena Vista Road on Saturday, May 3rd, at 4:00 p.m. No visitation is scheduled. Raymond John Martini July 14, 1926 - April 28, 2008 Greenlawn Southwest Mortuary