Eleanore Catherine Martinez went to be with the Lord on the beautiful spring afternoon of April 11, 2013 in her Lodi home surrounded by her family and friends.
Eleanore was born on March 15, 1934 in Reading, Pennsylvania to Gertrude and Cyrus Krall. She was 79 years old.
Eleanore is survived by her sons, James B. Richards of Lodi, Allen L. Lutz of Tennessee, his wife Mary and their daughter Sarah, John L. Donovan of Colorado, his wife Liz and son Johnny, and her daughter, May G. Cooper, of Lodi, her husband Eric and their children Stephen, Andrew and Catherine.
Eleanore is preceded in death by her parents Gertrude and Cyrus Krall, sisters Edith Krall and Shirley Graham and brothers Raymond and Floyd Krall and the love of her life, husband Paul.
“My Elle” is what her husband Paul called her. He always said it with a smile and a tone of great love. Those who knew the two of them knew it was a match made in heaven. They were always together, dancing, singing, traveling, gardening, crafting and being with friends. The love they shared was amazing. Paul went to be with the Lord 14 years ago, we all know he was there waiting for his Elle at the gates of heaven. They were blessed to have one another, the friendship and love they shared was truly an inspiring gift to everyone around them.
An amazing Mom, Elle was loved and admired by her children. She loved teaching them and instilled in them a love for history and learning. She believed in her children, always inspiring them to be their best. She was a Boy Scout Leader for her boys and a Girl Scout Leader for her daughter. She loved to travel and wanted her children to see and experience it all. There were many adventures to museums, national parks, historical places, and treks across the states, just to name a few. She made being a mom look easy, she did it so well. Her children, Jim, Allen, John and May were blessed to call her Mom.
She was called Nana by the grandchildren that adored her and she adored them. She loved to play Barbie dolls and ball with them. She taught her grandchildren to crochet, sing songs, play games, cards and much more. She always had stories to share and lessons to teach. She loved being their Nana. She had endless hugs and kisses. Yes, she loved them all “a bushel and a peck”.
As Elle joins friends in heaven, she leaves many friends behind. She was a kind and loving woman full of life. She loved spending time with her friends visiting, traveling, playing games and always laughing. She never forgot people. An Air Force wife in her first marriage, Elle moved often. She always managed to stay in touch with her friends and they knew they were loved by her. She was a good friend.
Elle was many things to many people. She was caring and compassionate about serving others. Eleanore attended Delta College and graduated as a Nurse. She was in the first graduating class of nurses from the new campus. With her love for nursing, she worked at a nursing home while in college then spent nearly 20 years as a nurse at Manteca Doctors Hospital. She spent the last few years of her nursing career in the nursery caring for Gods beautiful babies.
Elle was a resident of Manteca for 40 years. Seven years ago, she moved to Lodi to live next to her daughter and spend time with her grandchildren. She still traveled to Manteca to enjoy her friends, for bingo at the senior citizen center and monthly Friday night spaghetti dinners. Once settled in Lodi, Elle joined a swim group that became a new family of friends. Eleanore became very close to this group, enjoying many a get together throughout the months and years. She loved her swim group and the wonderful people that she called friends. A celebration of Eleanore’s life is planned for Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 11:00 pm, at the Manteca Golf Course at Chez Shari’s.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Hospice of San Joaquin County.
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
April 26, 2013
