Daniel Martinez

Daniel “Danny” Martinez

2/20/1950-1/26/2026

Danny Martinez 75 passed away surrounded by his “girls” on January 26, 2026 in Albuquerque, NM. Danny was born on February 20, 1950 to Sixto and Catalina Martinez in Santa Fe, NM.

Danny is preceeded on death by his wife Elizabeth, daughter Deanne, his mother and father, siblings; Ernest, Jennie, Zelda, George and beloved niece Teresa, as well as numerous other family that passed before him.

Danny is survived by his daughters Amanda and wife Sierra, Lori Beloved granddaughters Eliana and Neveah, siblings; Rose, Benny(Louise), Maryanne, David (Patsy), Dorothy, Albert (Maria), Victor (Helen), Veronica (Mark), Carol (Paul), and Ruth, dearest niece Patricia as well as many other family and friends.  

 Danny was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, and loyal friend to so many. Danny was a motorcycle and car enthusiast. He had a love for building both cars and motorcycles and racing them too. He loved motorcycles so much one of his first jobs was fixing and building motorcycles ay Bodi's Honda, from there he built his own motorcycle businesses with his wife; Capitol Cycles and Dan's Cycle Center.  He and his wife also owned "The Whole Enchilada" a food truck in the Santa Fe area. He also worked as a salesman at Capital Ford in Santa Fe, before he was paralyzed in a freak accident in 2005. 

Although this was a life changing and devastating injury, Danny never complained and never looked at his life as if he was "suffering". He made the best of every single moment of every single day, even if it was a bad day. Danny was a man of great faith. He knew that god was right by his side throughout it all.

Danny loved going to the casino, where he had lots of fun playing the slots. He also had a huge love for music. He was a self taught Guitarist and could also play the organ, piano, bass, and accordion. In his younger years he and his brothers and sisters had a family band. If you were one of the lucky ones to get a drawing from Danny, you knew that he was an amazing artist. Even with only one hand he continued to practice and draw pictures for the staff at Kindred Hospital. Kindred hospital was Danny's home away from home for almost 3 years straight. He was known as the "Mayor of Kindred". The staff at Kindred loved Danny and thought of him as part of the family. 

Danny finally came home after a long stay at Kindred in September 2025, after being told numerous times he would never go back. Tis is something you learned not to say to Danny, because he would shock everyone every time the said he wouldn't be able to do something. Being back home was truly a dream come true for Danny, he was so happy to be back. if you knew Danny, he touched your heart in some way. He was the kindest, most gentle, and generous person. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was the type of person who made you want to be a better human, just by having a conversation with him. He was so inspiring, he had such a strong love for his family and everyone in his life and never saw any negative in anyone. He put everyone else's needs before himself! 

On behalf of Danny, the family would like to thank everyone who has been involved in all of his ups and downs, those who came to visit Danny and those who called, the many beloved staff at Kindred Hospital who Danny adored, you are way to many to name one by one, special friends Maria Julia Jimenez and Kaysha Brown, his brother Benny for going to Kindred every week to make sure he was shaved and had a haircut and for bringing him his favorite treats, nurse case manager and friend Rhonda St. Marten as well as Stephanie Michelle Grant and Louie Perea of El Mirador HHC 

Services will be on Friday February 6, 2026 at 11 am at Mission Viejo Church in Santa Fe, NM  

Private burial will be at a later time.