Joan Martinez

Taylorsville, Utah – Joan Smith Hickman Martinez, our loving Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Friend, was welcomed back into the arms of her loving Heavenly Father on September 23, 2023, at the age of 85, after an extended battle with cancer.

Joan was born in Rexburg, Idaho on February 21, 1938, to Darrell S. Smith and Venus Drucilla Smith Palmer. She was the oldest of six children growing up in Salt Lake City and Murray. She graduated from Murray High School in 1956 and went on to get a Cosmetology License. For 50 years she applied her skills, making others feel beautiful and more confident about themselves. During this time, she made many life-long friends. A career highlight was owning a salon with her granddaughter until her retirement at age 72.

She loved to golf, knit, sew, cook, read, oil paint, and walk. She was a member of the Utah Knitting Guild, a women’s golf league and enjoyed meeting with her monthly book group. She always tried to stay physically fit, by running with her daughter, golfing, taking yoga classes, and walking with neighborhood friends. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where she held many positions, mostly in the Young Women’s organization. She loved the Lord and knew that family relationships were the most important thing here on earth, as shown by her relationships with her husband, children and grandchildren.

She had a three-year fight with Multiple Myeloma (blood cancer). During this time, she never gave up. She was always so optimistic even when she was in great pain. She was an exemplar for her family and friends of how to endure to the end.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, first husband Lee H. Hickman, and grandson Nicholas Allan Hall. She was survived by husband George G. Martinez, and daughters Lori Beth Utley (Steven) of West Jordan, UT; Annette Lehman (Kurt) of Alpine, AZ; Carolyn Steadman (Kyle) of Canby, OR; and Lisa Hall (Allan) of Sandy, UT; and stepsons Greg Martinez and Anthony Martinez; siblings Darrell Dee Smith (Shirley), Larry Smith (Kaye), Richard Smith (Charlene), Kim Smith (Shauna), and Kathy McKnight (John-deceased); 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Monday, October 2nd from 6:00-8:00 pm at Goff Mortuary, 8090 S. State St., Midvale. Service will be held Tuesday, October 3rd at the same location at 11:00 am, with a viewing one hour prior to services. Interment will be at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Camp Williams, 17111 S. Redwood Road, Bluffdale, UT 84065.

The service will be livestreamed on the Goff Mortuary Facebook Page at the following link: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Funeral-Service---Cemetery/Goff-Mortuary-116988261695382/ 
(The livestream video will appear when the service starts.)