Sister Patricia Martinez, 89, died Nov. 14 at Salina Regional Health Center in Salina. Born May 13, 1925, in Little River, as Pasquala Martinez, Sister Patricia was the daughter of Gregorio and Placida Gomez Martinez. She entered the Dominican Sisters Community in Great Bend Oct. 10, 1943, and pronounced her first vows Aug. 13, 1946. She celebrated 65 years of religious profession in 2011.
Sister Patricia was a life-long teacher. She began in 1947 and taught elementary students of Catholic parochial schools in some capacity until 2011. She was principal of four different schools, ministered in Kansas and Nebraska, and taught in all the grades from 1-8 at some time during her ministry. She taught in 16 different Kansas schools in Sharon, Dubuque, Willowdale, Seward, Clonmel, St. Leo, Belpre, Great Bend, Ellinwood, Chase, Cunningham, Schulte, Hutchinson, and Wichita in Kansas and in Lawrence, Neb. After full time teaching she still tutored part time for a while and worked with Head Start children.
Sister Patricia is survived by her Dominican Sisters of Peace religious community; one brother and three sisters, John, Antonia (Toni), Asencia (Cindy), all of McPherson, and Patrosinia (Pat) Oltmanns of Wichita.
Sister Patricia’s body will be brought to the hospitality area of the Dominican Chapel of the Plains, 3600 Broadway, Great Bend, at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, where it will lie in state until the Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with the Rev. Ken Van Haverbeke presiding. A wake service will be held at 7 p.m. Monday. Burial will be in the Sisters’ Resurrection Cemetery. Both the wake and the funeral will be held at the convent (see chapel address above).
Memorials in honor of Sister Patricia Martinez may be sent to: Dominican Sisters of Peace, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus OH 43219-2098. Friends may call at the convent Monday, from 9 a.m. until the time of the wake at 7 p.m., and Tuesday morning, until the time of the funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Bryant Funeral Home*
1425 Patton Road
Great Bend, KS 67530
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Nov. 16, 2014