Carol Jean Martinez, 80, life-long resident of Orange, Texas, passed away on December 24, 2015, at Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, Texas.

Funeral services will be 10:00a.m., Tuesday, December 29, 2015, at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange, Texas. Officiating will be Reverend David Millner of Calvary Baptist in West Orange, Texas. Graveside service held at noon at Dutch Cove Cemetery in Moss Lake, Louisiana.

Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00a.m.., Tuesday, at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange.

Born in Palestine, Texas, on May 8, 1935, Carol was the daughter of Homer Cecil White and Audrey Virginia Johnson, of Arlington, Texas. She was a member of the Orange Garden Club and the recipient of the Little Cypress PTA Lifetime Membership Award. She was a dedicated volunteer of the American Red Cross in Orange, Texas for over 30 years. She not only taught wr safety but was an integral part of the local emergency response team.

She worked for 25 years as a Nurse at Orange Memorial Hospital. She was an active fund raiser for the American Cancer Society for many years and she was a troupe leader for a Cub Scout group. Throughout her life, she attended First Baptist Church of Orange for over 40 years, raising seven children there. She taught many hours of Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.

She was an avid supporter of Orange Community Players and the local arts. She also taught Slimnastics at the Thomen Community Center. She loved her family, animals, and nature, and had many genuine friends.

Her favorite childhood memories were of summers spent at Moss Lake with family, especially all of her cousins. On occasion, she planned a Martinez family trip to Hodges Gardens in Louisiana. As an adult she enjoyed trips such as snorkeling in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, and seeing shows in Las Vegas and Branson.

Her family considered her to be spiritually inspiring. She enchanted people with her smile which was very contagious and had a way of lighting up a room. To her family she will always be the brightest star in Heaven.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

She is survived by her husband, Dewey Jean Martinez, of Orange, Texas; her children, Deborah Avant and  Pamela Jaus, of Arlington, Texas, Elizabeth Ford, of Pasadena, Texas, Christopher Martinez and Mark Martinez, of Orange, Texas, Neal Martinez, of Houston, Texas, and Susan Martinez, of Lincoln Park, Michigan; her grandchildren, Nathan Ross, Andrew Ross, Piper Wilson, Hunter Avant, Brian Hall, Kristen Hall, Michelle Martinez, Jared Martinez, Audrey Martinez, Olivia Martinez, Mark Martinez, Matt Martinez, Jarred Martinez, and Bradley Washington; three great-grandchildren; brother, Scott White, of Smithville, Texas.

Serving as pallbearers will be Todd Martinez, Mark Martinez, Neal Martinez, Jarred Martinez, Nathan Ross, Andrew Ross, Hunter Avant and Brian Hall.