Jeanne Larson Martinez

Jeanne Martinez was born on December 30, 1937 in Denver, CO to Helen and Howard Larson. She died peacefully, in the company of loved ones, in West Seattle at the age of 84 on November 14, 2022.

Jeanne was a loving friend, mother, grandmother, and wife; a caring and generous person with a gentle soul. While soft-spoken, she spoke from her heart and made all feel welcome. She was a valuable role model as a parent, teacher, and all-around positive person for everyone around her, and she will be missed by all who had the privilege of her presence in their lives. She is most often remembered for the kindness she showed to everyone she met.

The oldest of 3 children, Jeanne Franc Larson grew up in a variety of locations, including San Francisco and Braintree, MA, but none were as influential as her time in Madrid, Spain, where her father was an engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense. This time in Spain began her lifelong love for Spanish and Hispanic culture which influenced so much of what she did.

Jeanne graduated from both Braintree High School and Madrid Dependents School and had been attending nursing school in Denver when she began her first marriage in Madrid, Spain, in 1957. The new family moved quickly to Oakland, CA, Rome, Italy, and then settled in South Bend, IN in 1965. During those early years she worked at Mexicana Airlines, Spreckles Sugar, MacMillan Publishing, and became a homemaker after her two children, Victoria (Vicki) and Marino (John), were born. She volunteered for many organizations including her children’s schools, Ladies of Notre Dame, and cancer support groups in Seattle.

During her years in South Bend, she used her facility for Spanish to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University at South Bend. After moving to Richmond, VA in 1977, she used her Spanish language skills for a variety of translating work, but, most notably, working for years as a Patient Representative at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital. During her time in Richmond, she was divorced and later married Terry Jenkins, moving to Bloomington, IN in 1989.

While living in Bloomington, Jeanne resumed her studies, and earned Master of Arts and  Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Spanish Linguistics from Indiana University. When she and Terry moved to Phoenix, AZ in 2000, she became a lecturer in the Modern Languages department at Arizona State University until she retired and moved to Seattle, WA in 2011. Jeanne’s hobbies included hiking, painting, gardening, bird watching, reading, and attending live arts performances, especially classical music and opera

Jeanne was predeceased by her parents, Howard and Helen Larson of Ventura, CA, husband, W. Terry Jenkins and brother, Drew Larson. She is survived by her first husband, Marino Martinez, her two children, Vicki Martinez (Dana) and John Martinez (Jamie), her sister Gloria Colvin (Jim) and sister-in-law Debbie Larson, her grandchildren, Evelyn and Matthew Martinez and Shane Corwin, and her stepchildren Christopher Jenkins (Julia), Mary Harding (Andrew), and Mark Jenkins (Bernadette)

A memorial service will be held at Peace Lutheran Church in West Seattle on March 18, 2023 at 12 pm.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer's Association, World Wildlife Fund, the Seattle Humane Society, or your local arts organizations.

To share your Memories of Jeanne, please visit her Tribute Wall, located above.

- Care Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home -

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