Ana Martinez, Lindenhurst's unofficial 'neighborhood watch,' dies at 97

Ana Martinez had a way of making her Lindenhurst neighbors feel noticed. From her front porch or window, she greeted familiar faces with a wave, exchanged food and kept a watchful eye on the block she called home for 20 years.

"She was like a staple of the neighborhood. Now, when you turn the corner, there’s nobody there to wave to," said next-door neighbor Cirino Sesto.

Martinez, a former butcher from the Dominican Republic who helped raise her grandchildren in Lindenhurst, died Sept. 17 of natural causes at Berkshire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in West Babylon. She was 97.

Building a life

Born Dec. 20, 1928, Martinez was from Tamboril, Dominican Republic, and among the youngest in a family of 17. She grew up in poverty and attended school only through elementary level, said her son-in-law, Jose Rodriguez, of Lindenhurst.

Despite those challenges, she learned to read and write and built a life for herself and her two children, Angel and Juana Cespedes, by working as a butcher and selling homemade cakes and juices.

Her granddaughter Ronit Rodriguez, of Lindenhurst, said helping care for siblings during a difficult childhood may have shaped the nurturing woman she became.

At 60, Martinez moved to Brooklyn to live with her daughter, Juana Cespedes ,and her husband, Jose Rodriguez. She cared for the couple’s three children while they worked, keeping the household running and meals ready. The family moved to Lindenhurst in 2006.

"Without her, we couldn’t make it," Jose Rodriguez said, crediting her help with making the family's move to Long Island possible. "There is no money in the world to pay the contribution to us."

Around the table

Cooking was one of the ways Martinez showed her love. Her specialties included traditional Dominican dishes such as fried plantains, arepa and chambre.

No matter the hour, she would prepare food from scratch if someone was hungry. Her grandson Oz Rodriguez, of Lindenhurst, remembered her making plantains as late as 10:30 p.m., "with a smile every time."

"Everything that Ana cooked was delicious because she cooked with love," Jose Rodriguez said. "And everything you do with love, it tastes good."

Keeping relatives in the Dominican Republic connected with family in the United States mattered deeply to her. She traveled back often and encouraged younger relatives to stay in touch, family said.

When the family threw a party for her 90th birthday, Martinez insisted that even distant cousins be invited. As guests settled into familiar groups, she went around introducing relatives who barely knew one another. "Do you know who this is? This is your cousin," she would say, her granddaughter recalled.

Family gatherings were another chance for Martinez to express affection through food. "Everyone was family, but especially when we were at the dinner table," Ronit Rodriguez said.

A familiar presence

At home, Martinez began each day before dawn sharing coffee with Juana Cespedes and had another cup waiting when her daughter returned from work. Weather permitting, she spent much of the day on the front porch greeting neighbors, noticing everything from unfamiliar cars to new mail carriers.

Sesto said neighbors looked out for Martinez, too. They traded dishes, including empanadas, across their porches, a gathering spot for the two households.

"She was like the neighborhood abuela," he said.

Her grandchildren also remembered Martinez’s playful side: the quiet jokes and pranks, and the way she would begin dancing whenever someone played music. "She was definitely like a kid at heart," Ronit Rodriguez said.

As her health declined, Martinez reassured Juana Cespedes that she had been happy, Jose Rodriguez recalled. "I feel like a queen. You treat me like a queen, all of you," she told her daughter.

Martinez was predeceased by Erasmo Cespedes, the father of her children, who died in 2006. She is survived by her daughter, Juana Cespedes, of Lindenhurst; son Angel Cespedes, of Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic; brother, Ricardo Martinez, of Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital; and several grandchildren, including Oz and Ronit Rodriguez.

A funeral service was held on Sept. 22 at Joseph A. Slinger-Hasgill Funeral Services in Amityville. Another service was held Sept. 30 at Funeraria Gresefu in the Dominican Republic, followed by burial at Parque del Prado cemetery in San Antonio de Guerra, Santo Domingo Este.