Luz Antonia (Rodriguez) Marti

Luz R. Marti, 75, of Tifton passed away peacefully at home on March 28, 2017 after a courageous battle with cancer.

A Memorial Mass will be held Tuesday, April 4 at 11:00 AM in Our Divine Saviour Catholic Church with Father Justin Ferguson and Father Alfonso Gutierrez officiating. The family will receive friends on Monday, April 3 from 6-8 PM at Albritton Funeral Directors.

Mrs. Marti was born on February 26, 1942, in Ponce, Puerto Rico to Victoria Ortiz and the late Jose Antonio Rodriguez of Ponce. She devoted her life to public service as a noted chemist and as a tireless community leader. Growing up in Puerto Rico, she was an honor student with a passion for science and chemistry. She continued her studies at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where she met her husband of 47 years, Dick Marti.

Mrs. Marti, her husband and newborn son moved to Tifton in 1970, which at the time, was a difficult transition for a Hispanic, female scientist. Marti was hired by the University of Georgia and eventually joined USDA as a research chemist, where she worked for 29 years. During this time, she had two more children, and obtained another graduate degree from Florida State University. Marti’s professional work led to the identification and eventual banning of a toxin that she detected in the drinking water in south Georgia.

Mrs. Marti wrote that she “acculturated to Tifton.” She did, but Tifton also acculturated to its Hispanic community, due in part to her efforts. She served as a leader to many in the local and state Hispanic communities and as a connector to the wider community. Notably, she was the founder and Chairperson of La Fiesta del Pueblo, the largest Hispanic cultural festival in South Georgia. She served in Hispanic advisory roles under Governors Roy Barnes and Sonny Perdue. She served as a leader in the Girl Scouts, serving primarily migrant girls in the Tiftarea, and on the Parish Council at Our Divine Savior Catholic Church. She also helped many learn English through her work with the Tifton-Tift County Literacy Volunteers. She had many other community leadership roles in organizations including United Way of South Georgia, American Red Cross, Tifton-Tift County Arts Council, American Chemical Society, among others.

Mrs. Marti received much public recognition for her community work, including when she carried the Olympic Torch through downtown Tifton as it traveled toward Atlanta for the Olympic Games in 1996. However, her legacy will be remembered in the countless private, small acts of compassion, mentorship and generosity she offered to so many over the years.

Mrs. Marti is survived by her husband, Dick Marti of Tifton; her mother, Victoria Ortiz of Ponce, PR; her three children and their spouses: Andrew and Amy Marti of Decatur, GA, Lynn and Phil Moore of Sandy Springs, GA and Jonathan and Catherine Marti of Athens, GA; her brother, Jose Rodriguez, Jr. of Ponce ,Puerto Rico; her sister, Ivelisse Rodriguez Wainwright of San Juan, PR; and seven grandchildren; Ella Victoria Moore, Maxwell James Moore, Lillian Belle Marti, Lucille Page Marti, Margaret Ann Moore, Mary Reid Marti and Bennett Clayton Marti.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to La Fiesta Del Pueblo Scholarship Fund, Fiesta del Pueblo, PO Box 2345, Tifton GA, 31793 or to the Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County, Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County, 52 Tech Dr., Tifton GA 31794.