Matt G. Martinez Sr.

Family-Placed Obituary

Matt G. Martinez Sr., of Austin died, peacefully Thursday morning at home surrounded by his family. He was born June 4, 1917, to Delfino and Magdalena Martinez. Matt began working at an early age, selling tamales from a wooden pushcart on Congress Avenue. By the age of 15 he had taken up boxing and he became a local boxing hero, winning the Golden Gloves title in 1937. He had an amateur record of 107-3 and a professional record of 32-2. As a teenager Matt worked in the kitchen of Seton Hospital alongside the Daughters of Charity and became close friends with Sister Philomena Feltz, his mentor in the food service industry. Matt served in the Army during WW II from 1939 to 1945 as a machine gun sergeant in the Aleutians at Kiska, Adak and in the South Pacific. While in Alaska he served as a boxing instructor for three years and won a gold medal in the 1942 Pan American Games Cross-Country race over the Pillow Mountains in Kodiak. In 1944 Matt married Janie Gaitan and in 1952 the couple opened a restaurant together on East First Street. Janie cooked and Matt served as host and waiter. Despite adding on four times to this first restaurant, Matt soon outgrew the little restaurant and expanded across the street in another small house. In the following years the location was expanded five times. In December of 1986 Matt opened the restaurant at its current location on South Lamar. Matt's hospitality was a huge part of his success. With his smile and warm handshake he greeted every customer that visited his restaurant. Matt was named Austin Restauranteur of the Year in 1968 and was inducted as a member of the Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Honor in 1986. His son, Matt Jr., was also inducted into the TRA Hall of Honor in 2000. They are the only father and son that have both received this honor. Matt's passions were his faith, family and customers. He was a loving and generous man and a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a proud member of San Jose Catholic Church for 59 years, the Texas Restaurant Association and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. He also supported countless Austin organizations over the years. Survivors include his wife, Janie Martinez; son, Matt Martinez Jr. and wife, Estella; daughters, Gloria and husband, Dr. Roy Reyna, Cecilia and husband, Charles Muela and Cathy and husband, Darrell Kreitz; sister, Lena Verastique; brother, Peter Martinez; grandchildren, Christine, Matt III, Jesse, Joaquin, Marco, Denise, Rebecca, Roy, Charles Jr., Audrey, Michael, James, Stephen, Tommy and Paul; 17 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Rosary will be 6:00 p.m., Sunday, November 30, 2003, at San Jose Catholic Church. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 1, 2003, at San Jose Catholic Church with Father George Joseph and Reverend Tom Frank officiating. Burial will follow at Assumption Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Matt G. Martinez Sr. Memorial in care of the Austin Community Foundation, P.O. Box 5159, Austin, Texas 78763, (512) 472-4483 The Martinez family would like to thank Vistacare Family Hospice, Dr. Thomas Hill, Beverly Simmons, Russell Shahan and all of Matt's caregivers. In honor of Matt, the restaurant will be closed Monday for the Funeral. Arrangements by Harrell Funeral Home , 4435 Frontier Trail, Austin, TX 78745 512-443-1366.