i just talked to my mom and she told me this sad news...  will the stories live on, or will they be forgotten with time?  so sad how she died...

OBy SHANNON SHAW | The New Mexican
September 21, 2006

OHKAY OWINGEH -- A procession of hundreds of people followed pallbearers through the streets here as they carried the body of Esther Martinez, the renowned Tewa linguist and storyteller who died in a weekend vehicle crash, high above their heads to the pueblo's cemetery Wednesday.

Some 300 people earlier packed San Juan Parish Hall and flowed into the courtyard and street to pay their respects to Martinez as pueblo funeral traditions joined the celebration of Mass.

Many people spoke about the life of Martinez, 94, some drawing laughter and others tears.

``She might have been 94 years old, but she was 16 in her heart,'' the Rev. Terry Brennan said during Mass. ``The beauty of a story is the way it conveys something universal, that was the beauty of Esther's stories. Although she won many awards, she was always so humble because she believed the awards were for everyone; they helped everyone.''

Martinez was on her way home with two of her daughters to Ohkay Owingeh after accepting a National Heritage Fellowship in Washington, D.C., when she died in a head-on crash in Espanola. Police say Jaime Martinez Gonzalez, 44, was drunk when he crossed the center line on McCurdy Road, sideswiped a car and plowed head-on into the Dodge Dakota pickup carrying Martinez.

``I've known her since I was a little boy,'' said Herman Agoyo, 71, an Ohkay Owingeh councilman. ``It's very sad. She was almost home -- just a few miles to go. Those lives she touched are here (at the grave site). Not only will her spirit be here with us but also the educational things she left behind as well.''

Martinez's grandson, Matthew Martinez, told stories about his grandmother that ended with Tewa punch lines and caused eruptions of laughter.

Another grandson, Anthony Martinez, and his sister, Audrey, also spoke. ``(My grandmother), my hero, died in a tragic manner,'' Anthony said. ``I hope her death will inspire people not to drink and drive.''

Later, at the grave site, Matthew Martinez said: ``Words and stories can't convey who she was or what she meant to our family.''

He explained his sorrow by pointing around at all the mourners gathered at the cemetery, a gesture to Ohkay Owingeh's people and culture. ``All we have left is this,'' he said.

Those in attendance included the pueblo's governor, Joe Garcia, and members of the National Endowment for the Arts, which had awarded her the fellowship.

Martinez had been a Tewa instructor at Ohkay Owingeh for more than 20 years. During her tenure at San Juan Day School, she published The San Juan Pueblo Tewa Dictionary, which was digitized into a CD-ROM for Ohkay Owingeh children to use in the classroom, along with language-curriculum guides. She also served as a Native language consultant at other pueblos and won countless awards.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, a Mexican national who was served an arrest warrant Tuesday charging him with vehicular homicide, remained hospitalized Wednesday at St. Vincent Regional Medical Center