Page created by: Monica Martinez

My late father and my hero Gene Martinez passed away three years ago. It was so very hard to see a once very strong man become so weak and frail due to Parkinson's disease. He was a retired meat cutter. He and my mother raised three children together. His heart was broken when my mother passed away in 1998 from cancer. My older brother , my older sister and myself each took part in taking care of our father. It was just very difficult to see him in a wheelchair. We bathed him and fed him. It just broke our hearts to see him like this. He coached little league and was loved by many. He has definitely made an impact on our lives and on his grandchildren's lives. We miss him greatly and he will never be forgotten. You never know how Parkinson's disease can affect an individual until it happens to a loved one. You wish that you could take it away for them. I pray that there will soon be a cure found.