Barbara Ann Martinez

Viroqua - Barbara Ann Martinez was born in Northfield, Minnesota, on November 16, 1944. She spent most of her childhood in Palo Alto, California, but also lived in Alexandria, Virginia, when her father, John P. Albers, served as a geologist at the Geological Survey of the U.S. Interior Department in Washington, D.C. Her father’s work for the U.S. Government took Barbara and her family to Kolkata, India in the late 1950’s where they lived for two years. Barbara often said this was a life-changing experience in her teenage years that gave her a perspective reflected in her commitment to peace, non-violence, and social justice. She attended Santa Clara University and San José State University in California and received a BA Degree in French and Spanish literature. Barbara also studied French literature for a year at Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Barbara met her future husband Ed in Peace Corps training in Los Angeles in 1968. She went on to train primary school teachers in the Dominican Republic. It was during the Vietnam War and Ed was drafted into the U.S. Army. After they married in January 1969, they lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where their daughter Sara Elizabeth was born in 1970. After Ed’s military service, they settled in Southern California where their son David Matthew was born in 1973. Barbara taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to adult immigrants for the Los Angeles Unified School District for over twenty years. In addition to teaching, she was responsible for developing ESL teaching curricula for the District’s New Citizens Program. Her students came from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Africa. Barbara was universally loved and respected by her students whom she supported as they adjusted to life in the U.S. In 1995, Barbara and Ed relocated to Alexandria, Virginia, when Ed began work for an international healthcare project headquartered in Washington, D.C. Barbara worked as a historic interpreter at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Being fluent in French and Spanish, she conducted tours and lectures for VIPs and U.S. State Department foreign delegations, in addition to her regular work for the public visitors. In December 2005, Barbara and Ed retired to Viroqua, Wisconsin, to be near their daughter Sara Martinez, son-in-law Matt Urch and grandsons, Sam and Henry.

Highlights of Barbara’s public service include: Founder, Vernon County Chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Member, Couleecap Board, Coulee Region; Member, St. Mary’s Catholic Parish and co-founder of Pax Christi USA Parish Chapter; Volunteer, Vernon County Historical Society; Facilitator, Al-Anon Driftless Family Group, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Viroqua; and Founding Member, The Other Door at Family and Children’s Center of Viroqua.

Barbara was an avid researcher of her ancestry that will enlighten her descendants about family history and connections. She loved her family, her friends, and the world very much. Barbara was a loving, kind and generous wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend.

She succumbed to brain cancer and died on February 12, 2024. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, John P. Albers and Eileen Rouze Albers, and her brother Peter G. Albers. She is survived by her husband, Edward L. Martinez; children, Sara Elizabeth Martinez (Matthew Urch) and David M. Martinez; grandsons, Samuel Martinez Urch and Henry Martinez Urch; sister, Patricia Moore (Dallas Moore); sisters-in-law, Irene I. Martinez and Norma A. Martinez (Claude C. Martinez) as well as nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, or Family and Children's Center (designated funds for The Other Door).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Viroqua. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Mass. A private burial service will be held in the Viroqua Cemetery. Online Condolences may be expressed at www.vossfh.com.

Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home & Crematory is serving Barbara's family.

123 W. Decker St.

Viroqua, WI 54665

608-637-2100