HOUSTON – When you first look at Isaac Martinez, he seems like this stoic, intimidating giant. He stood before KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble wearing a dark purple shirt honoring his late wife, Christin Martinez, who tragically died a few days after his 31st birthday during a deadly windstorm—also known as a derecho—at their southeast Houston home.
Behind the Ray-Ban sunglasses, arguably hiding tears and heartbreak, stood a broken man who lost more than the mother of his four sons.
They were high school sweethearts who’d been together 17 years—15 of them as husband and wife.
“We met freshman year at Austin High School,” he said. “We were best friends for about two years, and then we finally got together. Junior year [of high school], after I asked her out for the third time, because I told myself: ‘like baseball, three strikes, you’re out.’ So, I was like, ‘Let me ask her one more time, and [if] she says, no then, OK, I’ll leave her alone.’ And I guess luck of the draw, she told me yes, and from then on, we were together for about 15 years.”
For someone like Isaac, who spent literally half his life with Christin, it’s hard to pinpoint a favorite memory he shared with her. But the first that came to mind was when the couple realized they were pregnant with their first son.
“Finding out that me and her are going to be a family and realizing that we’re going to be in this for the long haul,” Isaac said. “I couldn’t [have been] happier. And then from then on, just every happy memory is just with me and her with the boys.”
Fast forward to May 16, 2024, Christin and Isaac were on their fourth son, who’d recently turned 1 year old when the skies turned dark and a deadly windstorm struck the Greater Houston Area.
“We were laying down, we were watching a movie together, and then that’s when a flash of lightning hit, and everything shook and the power went out,” Isaac said. “She was like, ‘Look, a branch almost fell and hit your brother’s car,’”
Afraid their vehicle would be next, Christin suggested she move their vehicle, which Isaac protested but she insisted—since at that point the rain appeared to be less threatening.
“As soon as she had ran [sic] out to the truck, that’s when a gust of wind came. And she ran to the truck because she thought she’d be safer in the truck. And shortly after the door closed, that’s when I heard a branch crack, and I looked up to see if something was there. And that’s when I noticed the tree started to tilt over.”
It wasn’t long before the tree toppled over the vehicle, killing Christin inside. She was one of eight victims, tragically killed during the deadly windstorm.
Isaac, his family, and the general public gathered at Perfect Choice BBQ on Galveston Rd across from Chavez High School for a fundraiser. Proceeds from each plate that was sold at $12 each would go to help raise funds for a new vehicle, the 1-year-old baby Christin leaves behind, and funeral expenses.
“I was actually shocked when I heard about it,” Anthony Cutaia, one of the partners of Perfect Choice BBQ said. “I mean, I actually have grandkids who are all the same age as her kids, so I took I mean, it hit me a little bit harder.”
“We actually know the grandfather of the kids personally,” he added. “So, when they asked us to use the spot, we said, let’s go ahead and do the benefit.”
Christin’s youngest brother, Jonathan, was also in attendance and remembers his sister as “caring, funny, forgiving and loving.” When he heard about what happened to his sister, he tells KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble he was just as shocked.
“I broke down,” Jonathan said. “I thought they were messing around at first, but after a while, everything hit me, and I just lost it. It hurt.”
And though they’re doing what they can for Isaac, their brother-in-law, it’s hard to come up with the right words to console someone who lost their literal life partner.
“I miss her a lot, and I just, I don’t know. I don’t know how things are going to be going forward because I did everything with her,” Isaac said. “She was my fishing buddy. She was my sous chef. She was my taster. She was everything. She was she was the foundation of of me and my family.”
The BBQ fundraiser was scheduled to go from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. or until they ran out of food. By around 4 p.m., KPRC 2 reporter Bryce Newberry said about 800 plates had been sold.
The massive turnout took Isaac by surprise.
“From the bottom of my heart, I just want to thank everybody because me and her kept to ourselves, we were introverts,” he admitted. “We just thought it was just me or her and the boys, you know? Never in a million years. Never in our wildest dreams would we imagine everybody from all over Houston, and even people from outside of Houston, reach out and come and show love and support for my wife. And it just really means a lot to me.”
Part of this is because Christin Martinez was more than a wife, she was a daughter, a sister, and also Isaac said, an educator. Though she may be gone, her memory lives on as a testament to the people she had an impact on.
“She was a daycare teacher, [so] to hear how all the kids that she helped raise, you know, to hear those kids are also feeling this as well as the parents. It just really meant a lot to me,” he concluded. “And it really opened up my kids and I’s [sic] eyes to see how big of an impact my wife and their mother really had on Houston.”