“Oh yeah, I liked having people over…well, some people.” With a wry smile and a dry sense of humor, Patricia Martin can make almost anyone laugh. She grew up in the forties in Nashville, Tennessee as the middle child of three. The family attended Southern Baptist services and her father was an administrator at Baptist hospital. After some time, the family moved to Rome, Georgia.

It was in Georgia that Pat met her soon to be husband, Robert, through an introduction by their mothers. They dated for a while, got married and started a family together. Patricia completed two years of college and learned Spanish along the way. Robert completed his schooling at Georgia Tech and was offered a job in San Diego. They and their child packed up their belongings and moved to sunny San Diego. The family expanded to include two daughters and one son.

After some time in San Diego, Patricia remarried to a man named Ron. He was an electrician at the time and Pat sold Avon products. After getting married, Pat was active volunteering in the school district and as a campfire girl leader for both of her daughters. In 1982, she took on the role of bookkeeper when she and her husband opened Cashway Electric Supply. They operated this business together for thirty years. The Martin family was well known for the annual Cashway Electric Christmas Party, where Patricia would prepare a delicious Southern BBQ for the employees.

When not working or volunteering, Pat enjoyed playing the organ, being an active member of the Elks lodge with Ron, going to Viejas and Barona, riding in her 50th anniversary silver Ford Thunderbird, and spending time with the family pets. The family had eight different miniature schnauzers over the years and later eight different giant schnauzers! Pat was always an animal lover and explained that “having a good dog is a necessary requirement to raise kids. Kids learn responsibility from taking care of it.” Pat shared that she is proud to have seen her children grew up to be kind individuals. She now has five grandchildren and five great- grandchildren.

Days for Pat now are spent walking around and socializing with the different members of our community. She can often be found even in the offices, sharing a diet coke with our directors. “Diet coke is the lesser of all evils,” according to Pat. When asked to describe their mom, Pat’s daughters expressed, “Although small in size, she has always been a major force. No matter what challenge has come up, she has stood tall and made her voice be heard.” We see this strength in character and resiliency in Pat. Lao Tzu reflected, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” We see both sides of this in Pat. She is so beautifully loved by many and has shown love and courage as a mother, sister and friend.