Gustavo Martinez, loving husband, and father, passed away peacefully in Gainesville, Florida on the evening of October 6, 2021, surrounded by his wife and children. Gus, as he was affectionately known, is survived by his wife Judy, his daughter Tina Elena, and his son Francisco.
Gus was born on May 25, 1952, near Chapultepec in Mexico City to Francisco and Domitilia Martinez, and was the youngest of 8 children. He graduated from the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in 1971 with a degree in diesel engineering. He came to the United States in 1974 to work on his master’s degree while working for his cousin in San Jose, California. While there, he met Judy at a club in 1975. They married in 1977 and welcomed their first child, Tina Elena, in 1979, and their second child, Francisco, in 1983.
Gus worked for 24 years at the San Angel Inn at Epcot’s Mexican Pavilion. Throughout his life, he loved cars and kept the 1970 Ford Mustang that he and Judy brought their newborns home in and tinkered with it for the rest of his life. He enjoyed cooking, disco, electronic dance music, soccer, and spending time with his family, which he prioritized above all else. Family members and friends often recall many of Gus’s unique sayings, a favorite being “you’ll never survive in the wild,” which always got lots of laughs.
A father figure to many, Gus was always willing to offer a helping hand to those in need. Gus also loved animals and growing plants and grew two lime trees from seed with his son, Paco, which the pair lovingly cultivated for 8 years, during which time family and friends were inundated with a free flow of key limes. He often visited Las Vegas with Judy and his daughter Tina Elena and her fiancé Curtis, where gambled, danced, and enjoyed each other’s company.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Liver Foundation in order to help others who would not otherwise have been able to get the help and information they needed.
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