Carmen Estela Martin
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Carmen Estela Thurston Martin, known as "Carmencita" by her mother's family, and as "Mima"
by her grandchildren, passed away on Sunday evening, July 24th, in Austin, Texas, surrounded
by her children and grandchildren. Carmen was 89 years old. Although she passed away in
Austin, and had lived in places as varied as Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Lubbock, and
Pampa, home is where your heart is, and Carmen's heart found a home in Midland, Texas in
1956. And, over the following 66 years, Midland is where she met the love of her life, raised five
sons, enjoyed great friendships, and built a beautiful house, whose doors were as open as her
heart was, welcoming all with the warmth of her attention, the generosity of her spirit, and, most
deliciously, an abundance of fresh baked goods. Carmen is preceded in death by her beloved
husband of 41 years, Joseph Stewart Martin ("Stewart"), and her mother, Carmen Belen Libby,
and her father, Paul Jarvis Thurston.
Carmen is survived by her brother, Edwin Thurston, and his wife, Phylis, of San Angelo; and her
sister, JoAnn, and her husband, Tom Oren, of San Angelo. Carmen often said that the happiest
period of her life was when her sons were little boys and she went around town followed by "five
little ducks in a row." She is survived by those five ducks and their families: Joseph Stewart
Martin, Jr. ("Jay") and his wife, Diana, of Houston; John Edwin Martin ("Ed") of Dallas;
Frederick Scott Martin ("Scott") and his wife, Carmen, of Spain; Stephen Douglas Martin
("Steve") of Austin; David Thurston Martin and his wife, Victoria, of Austin; her grandchildren,
Trevor Martin, and his wife, Kelsey; Caroline and her husband, Gabe Aguilar; Joseph, Annabel,
and Carmen LaRue; Ellison and Lucy; and her very first great-grandchild, the now one year-old,
Genevieve Adaleigh Martin.
Carmen Martin was born in Puerto Rico on February 1, 1933. Her mother, Carmen Libby, was
one of ten children born to Frederick Ernest Libby, who the U.S. State Department sent to
establish the public school systems of Puerto Rico and Panama, and his wife, Maria Cestero, of
Puerto Rico. Though Carmen spent most of her early childhood in Lubbock and Pampa, Texas,
she lived for a year in Puerto Rico, where she remembered the children calling her, "La
Americanita." During the Great Depression and World War II, her mother worked long shifts as a
registered nurse, and left Carmen to care for her little brother, Ed, and all the stray dogs they
adopted.
After her father, Paul Thurston, returned home from the war, her family moved to Ville Platte
and then Franklin, Louisiana, where she graduated from high school as valedictorian. She then
attended University of Southern Louisiana, where she created her own degree plan in speech
pathology, having been inspired by helping her little brother overcome a speech disorder as a
child. To see the world before starting her career, she flew as a flight attendant for a year with
Delta Airlines, based out of New Orleans, before she landed a job as a teacher and speech
pathologist in Midland, where her uncle, Harry Libby, was a geologist. She chose Midland over
other job offers, because it was a bustling boom town, attracting young professionals from
around the country, and soon she fell in love with one of them, a Caltech-trained geologist from
California, Stewart Martin.
Carmen met Stewart at a dance party, which she and her many roommates hosted in their house
in 1956. Carmen and Stewart married on March 9, 1957 in Franklin, Louisiana and spent their
honeymoon in Havana, Cuba?unexpectedly witnessing the presidential palace attack, the
beginnings of the Cuban Revolution. Carmen left speech pathology to start a family, and had five
sons over a span of 10 years. Raising her five sons?Jay, Ed, Scott, Steve, and David?was her
greatest challenge and her greatest pride in her life, and to which she brought the same level of
energy, compassion and generosity that she brought to everything she did. During this period, for
her many friends from St. Mark's United Methodist Church, her neighbors on Auburn Court, her
large extended family and the countless friends of her sons, Carmen's beautiful home became a
welcoming place to gather and enjoy great food with friends and family as she always had
something cooking in the kitchen?or, better yet, baking in the oven. No matter the scale of the
social event, either birthday parties, baby showers, graduations, summer cul-de-sac barbecues,
winter Christmas parties?including her famous Christmas cookie decorating parties for
kids?or just an after school snack for her sons and their many friends, Carmen was always the
consummate hostess, sharing her food and kindness with all who entered her home? and, in
return, from all she received much love and appreciation.
After all her five sons graduated from Lee High School and then from The University of Texas at
Austin, Carmen faced a new challenge, the love of her life, Stewart was diagnosed with a rare
debilitating disease. Rather than admit him to a nursing center, she took care of Stewart at home
through the long, painful process of a progressive disease. At the same time, she also went back
to speech pathology after 30 years, where she loved helping students overcome speech disorders,
and where she made new best friends, adding to her lifetime of meaningful friendships. Through
it all she never lost her spirit of adventure and enthusiasm for life, whether it was working as a
summer volunteer at Rocky Mountain National Park or traveling on church missions to
Guatemala and Mexico. As she traveled the world, Carmen made friends wherever she went
through her openness and interest in others. And she never lost touch with her many friends and
family by sending cards for all occasions, any holiday and every birthday. Most importantly,
Carmen sent out her annual Christmas letter, so that all her friends and family could keep up with
the "Seven Martins."
Those Seven Martins soon multiplied, becoming many more Martins, and Carmen became
"Mima," the generous and fun-loving grandmother. Every summer for three decades, Carmen
hosted "Camp Mima" to entertain her grandkids, taking Trevor, Caroline, Joe, Annabel, Carmen
LaRue, Ellison, and Lucy for a week, so that they could all enjoy the wonders of her home and
adventures in Midland, from the Petroleum Museum and the Planetarium to drive-in movies and
dinner at Shoguns. While never able to host Camp Mima for the newest Martin of them all, her
first great-grandchild, Genevieve, Carmen could not have been happier than to welcome the new
generation of Martins into her life!
As Carmen would say, she never had a dull moment in her life ?she kept busy by always
thinking of the needs of others and by doing today what others might have put off for tomorrow.
And, of course, she did it in her own way, including her approach to her final months, choosing
to be with her family and friends and to spend as much time as she could with them ?to share
her stories and share a genuine interest in theirs. As a result, she passed the way she lived, with a
heart full of joy, love and generosity for all?seeing the best in all people and the bright side in
all situations.
A celebration of life service is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Friday, August 5, 2022, at First United,
Methodist Church, 300 North Main Street, Midland TX 79701. A public visitation is scheduled
for 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursday, August 4, 2022, at Ellis Resthaven Funeral Home, 4616 N
Big Spring St, Midland TX 79707. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be sent to the
"Meals on Wheels Program" at Senior Life Midland, 3301 Sinclair Ave, Midland, TX, 79707