Martha Irene Muñoz

January 9, 1937 - September 24, 2023,

Tampa, FL

Our Mom, Martha Fernandez Muñoz was born in New York on January 9, 1937.

She and her younger sister, Irene, were the daughters of Carmen and Jose Fernandez, both of Cuban descent. Irene lost her battle with kidney failure at the age of 8, following a 4-year illness. Mom was 12 when she lost her little sister. After Irene’s passing, Jose relocated the family to Tampa, FL. That’s where our mom met our dad. She was 13 years old.

The following year, her parents relocated the family back to NY where Mom graduated from George Washington High School. She married our dad the following year at age 18. They had 3 children: Steven, Laurie and Gary. Mom told us many times that she believed she was placed on this earth to be our mother.

In 1967, we moved to Orlando, FL. The following year Mom, now divorced, moved us back to Tampa, where there was a family support network.

Those years were not easy for any of us, but Mom learned to drive, got a job, got us kids settled in our new schools and daycare (for Gary) and raised us on her own with very little outside assistance. She showed up for us every single day in all ways, large and small, too numerous to even count; birthdays, holidays, class projects, baseball games, summer vacations at the Glass House on Clearwater Beach. Those vacations were the highlight of our year, and we still talk about those times. We don’t know how she did it – she was amazing.

After retiring from Verizon, she took a year off but then needed something to do. She got a job in a small daycare with kids 3-4 years old and she absolutely LOVED it. She worked at various schools, even winning Teacher of the Year in Hillsborough County once. She didn’t like the pressure of a busy office but with 10 little ones hanging all over her like melted cheese, she was in heaven. She stayed in the daycare field for another 13 ½ years.

In 2004, Mom began sharing a home with Laurie and Gerald. This was where Mom resided for the next 18 years. That home became the gathering spot for our family. We celebrated countless holidays, special family occasions, and backyard get-togethers.

Martha’s life was enormous in terms of the impact she had on her loved ones.

She is survived by:

Children:

Steve Muñoz (son) & wife Beverly

Laura Coplon (daughter) & husband Gerald

Gary Muñoz (son) & wife Amanda

Grandchildren:

Jennifer Geraghty & husband Dan

Daniel Muñoz & wife Georgina

Stephanie Muñoz

Ryan Muñoz

Great Grandchildren:

Danny Geraghty

Emma Geraghty

Andrew Geraghty

Emmett Muñoz

Ruby Muñoz

Baby Muñoz on the way

Nothing made Mom happier than the time she spent with her family.

In addition, Mom was blessed to have a best friend (Haydee) whom she met when they were both 4 years old. She and Haydee have gone through their entire lives together. Haydee is still with us and has asked her BFF to “save her a seat”. You can bet your life she’s doing just that.

In her spare time, Mom was the Queen of Scrabble, a game we played for decades. She was a talented artist and loved to draw. She loved scrapbooking and arts and crafts. She was a fantastic cook, she knew how to rewire a lamp, she reupholstered our dining room chairs once. She was 2nd to none when it came to pulling together a lastminute Halloween costume. She loved cooking for our friends and family, and she never minded us listening to music loudly.

She loved the New York Yankees, Tom Jones, ABBA, The BeeGee’s and John Denver. She was a fan of 70’s and 80’s music too. Green was her favorite color.

She was our biggest cheerleader and she worried about us like crazy! You don’t always appreciate that in the moment.

We will love and miss her for the rest of our lives, but we will remember her in a way that would make her happiest and for the accomplishment that was dearest to her; being a loving mother (“Ma”), Grandmother (“Abuela”) and Great Grandmother (“Wella”).

With Our Love Always,

Steve, Laurie & Gary

Thank You:

Colonnade at Carrollwood

We would like to thank the entire staff at Colonnade at Carrollwood Assisted Living Facility, in Carrollwood (Tampa) FL, where Mom lived from December 14, 2022 to September 24, 2023. They treated Mom and all of us with love, respect, compassion, and provided such excellent care to our mother. We are grateful to all of you for what you did for our loved one.

We are so happy that we chose the Colonnade as our mother’s place. What an amazing community!

LifePath Hospice

There really are no words to express our gratitude for what all of you did for Mom and our family while we did our best to navigate this journey. Just knowing that we had a network of compassionate people available to us day or night was such an amazing comfort to our family. Thank you all so very much.

From the Family:

In lieu of flowers, we are requesting donations be made in Martha’s name to:

LifePath Hospice

12470 Telecom Drive, Suite 301

Temple Terrace FL 33637

Website Link: https://www.chaptershealth.org/foundation/lifepathhospice-donation/