Celesta Mary Martinmaas

1929 - 2020

Celesta Mary Martinmaas

Celesta Mary Martinmaas was born on April 19, 1929. She passed away at the age of 90 in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 5, 2020. Mom was a South Dakota farm girl, who remembered pulling sunflowers from the cornfield with her siblings, and electricity coming to their rural area when she was a teenager. She had fond memories of life on the farm with her mother and father, Mathilda and John Koeck, and her brothers and sisters; Donald, Marion, Francis, Gayle, and Carolyn, who have all pre-deceased her. She was very proud of her family's roots in that farming community on the Great Plains. Her father was very protective and wouldn't allow her to go out with boys alone, but only as part of a group of youngsters. Luckily for us, she overcame this obstacle and met our dad at a dance, and promptly fell in love. They were married on February 7, 1950, and had thirteen children. And, yes! Trips to the grocery store for a family of fifteen were planned well in advance, the list was prodigious, and the grocery carts many, but mom managed. Keeping the house clean, cooking, baking, and doing mountains of laundry kept mom very busy. She loved to sew and made her own clothes and many of ours when we were children. There was always a tall stack of mending waiting for her by her sewing machine. She made the best bread, and her pies live in our memories. Mom liked to ride her motorcycle and had a lot of fun riding with our dad and their friends. She was a devout Catholic, with a lifelong devotion to the Rosary. She and dad saw to it that we went to Catholic schools and attended church each Sunday. Our family eventually left South Dakota to make a new home in Reno, Nevada, in the '70s. As her children grew up and started their own lives, mom was always there to take care of grandchildren and help in any way she could. Towards the end of her life, she benefited so much from attending adult day care at the Continuum in Reno. We are so very grateful for the kindness and care provided by Nancy, Christina, and Julie, and all the rest of their staff. Mom is pre-deceased by our dad, Werner Martinmaas; our brother Werner; and, mom's grandson Lance Tumlinson. She is survived by her children: Lorraine Richmond (Jack), Mark Martinmaas (Dee), Chester Martinmaas, Roxanne Tumlinson (John), Luke Martinmaas, Sue Martinmaas, Brenda Cunha (Bob), Lucy Flint (Dick), Marita Coyle (Jim), Jesse Martinmaas, Matt Martinmaas (Nicole), and John Martinmaas (Marcy). Her grandchildren are: Jesse Padratzik; Werner, Mark, and Ian Martinmaas; Zachary and Jeremiah Tumlinson; Jacob and Jered Martinmaas; Josh Martinmaas and Thomas and Eric Davidson; Justin Auch and Kirstyn, Nicole, Nathan, and Jeremy Flint; Jennifer Phinney, Rachel Bahle, and Sean Coyle; Brandon and Kyle Martinmaas; Ashley Martinmaas; Laura Martinmaas and Madison Hine, Dylan Phillips, Ciara Peterson, and Brianne Phillips. Mom has 22 great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, in Reno, at 12 Noon on Friday, January 24, 2020 . Interment will follow at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Cemetery.