Obituary of Eileen North-Martinez

On Sunday, November 19, 2023, Eileen North Martinez left her Earthly body at the Jersey Shore Medical Center. Surrounded by family, she passed due to difficulties recovering from surgery and scleroderma disease at the age of 68.
Born in Jersey City in 1955, Eileen was raised in Hazlet, New Jersey along with her six siblings. By 1971, she moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona to join her big sister, Kathleen, nieces, Theresa, Cheryl, and nephew, Doug. While finishing high school, Eileen met her Vietnam War-drafted, future husband, Federico Martinez, Jr. Eileen and Fred had their first date in 1972 at a Pink Floyd concert. Shortly after, Eileen followed Fred back to New Orleans, Louisiana, where they eventually got married and had two children, Eric and Amy. She raised their children in Gretna, Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina, Eileen and Suzy, her beloved cocker spaniel, moved back to Hazlet to her other big sister, Margaret’s home. Most recently, Eileen and “Peggy” resided together, amid their wonderful neighbors in Tinton Falls.
Throughout the years, Eileen had a variety of professions, mostly in healthcare, that included medical billing, managing mental health living facilities, and private nursing care. In all of her occupations, Eileen showed extreme dedication, a strong moral passion, and a gigantic, caring heart in every aspect of her job. You can say, God forgot to put in the “quit” when They made Eileen.
Other than being an avid reader of the Holy Bible and political fiction, she has been known to enjoy a New Orleans Saints’ victory, photography, listening to the Beatles and Springsteen, and spending time walking on the Asbury Park boardwalk with her family. A paragraph in an obit cannot convey the amount of endless love and devotion Eileen had for her family, friends and life; Eileen’s love can only be summed up as unbreakable.
Eileen joins her parents in heaven, Vincent F. North and Veronica S. North (nee Finnegan). Eileen is missed by her children: Eric and Amy (Donnie); by her siblings: Kathleen Bullock (James), Margaret Franco, Joseph, Christopher, Vincent Jr. (Jill), and Thomas (Karen); by her nieces and nephews on the North side: Theresa, Doug, Cheryl, David, Michelle, Fiona, Finnegan, Kelly, Ryan, Caitlyn, and Connor; by her nieces on the Martinez side: Michelle, Andrea, Emily, and Katibeth. And, last-but-not-least, Eileen will be missed by her granddaughter, Donnie Ray.
Special heartfelt thanks, acknowledgments, and great appreciation to all the professionals in the healthcare field: Eileen's doctors, specialists, nurses, CICU staff, dietitians, food service workers, and custodians. Thank you all for helping our much-loved mother, sister, aunt, and friend. She fought as hard as you did, and we are all extremely grateful to you.
A memorial gathering will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Saturday, December 2, 2023 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM with her memorial service to follow at 2:00 PM with the Rev. Tim Harris, officiating. Following Eileen’s memorial, family and friends are invited to a repast at the Buttonwood Manor, 845 NJ-34, Matawan. Internment will be private. A memorial service will also be held in New Orleans, Louisiana at a date and time to be announced. For those who desire, memorial contributions may be made to the National Scleroderma Foundation, P.O. Box 411533, Boston, MA 02241-1533 or HERE. For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.