Birth and Family
Martinez was born 3 February 1940 in Seguin, Texas. He was the eldest of four children born to Guadalupe and Dora Martinez. Martinez is a grandson of sharecropper farmers who came to the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century. Martinez was baptized at the Iglesia Metodista Unida La Trinidad, where his parents are still active members.
Martinez met Raquel Mora while in college in El Paso, Texas. They were married 9 June 1961. She was born in Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, where her father was a Methodist pastor. The Mora family came to the United States when Raquel was twelve years old. Joel and Raquel have three children: Patricia, John and Rebeca.
Read more about this topic: Joel Nestali Martinez
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