Francisca Martinez Stephenson's Obituary
On April 27, 2023, at the age of 83, Francisca passed away peacefully with her children and grandchildren at her side. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend and will be missed greatly by all who knew and loved her. Francisca was born on January 29, 1940, to Crescencio Martinez and Herminia Bustamante in El Mulato, Chihuahua, Mexico in their small adobe house. She had seven brothers and six sisters and was born right in the middle. She grew up on a farm in rural Mexico a mile from the Rio Grande.
Francisca recognized early on that she wanted more from life than her small village in Mexico could provide. She first came to the U.S. when she was 18 and knew that this was the country she wanted to call home. Francisca moved to El Paso, TX when she was 20. In 1964, she moved to Chicago, IL to be a nanny for a lovely Puerto Rican family. It was there that she met the love of her life, Joseph Stephenson. They didn’t speak the same language but that didn’t stop them from falling in love and getting married on November 28, 1964. The day after their wedding they boarded a train headed west to Salt Lake City, Utah. They were married for 53 years and spent their lives in Salt Lake and Kearns raising four incredible children and enjoying life together. She took great care of Joe for the last few years of his life.
Francisca had a lovely name but since few could pronounce it, she went by Fran, Frannie and Quica. She was beautiful inside and out, had a big smile and a great sense of humor, was intelligent, strong-willed, spirited and adventurous, and she had the most loving and gentle heart. Frannie loved being a mother and grandmother and she worried about us constantly. She was the backbone of our family. She loved her house in Kearns and greatly missed living there the last year of her life. Fran enjoyed spending time in her garden and nature; reading; watching sports (especially Utes football and RSL soccer); keeping up on current events (ABC nightly news with David Muir); traveling; but most of all she cherished spending time with her family and friends. Despite facing many health challenges in her life her strong will to be with us kept her fighting for many years.
Francisca was a humble but remarkable woman. She earned a GED after only attending school to fourth grade in Mexico. Education was important to her and she was so proud that all of her children and adult grandchildren were graduates of the University of Utah. She loved that her son and daughter-in-law had PhDs (MIT), her daughter-in-law had an MPA (UU), and that her granddaughter would soon be receiving her PhD (Cornell). She treasured being a citizen of the United States of America and earned her citizenship in 1973. Frannie worked for the Utah Department of Motor Vehicles for 24 years and retired in 2002. She was the only bilingual staff member in customer service at the time and she enjoyed helping Spanish speakers. Francisca loved the people that she worked with and would have liked to work longer if her health had been better. Shortly after retiring she volunteered at Huntsman Cancer Institute for a couple of years and loved her time there too.
Francisca is survived by her loving children Donna Stephenson Branson, Salt Lake City, Utah; Joe (Jill) Stephenson, Salt Lake City, Utah; Robert (Brandon King) Stephenson, Bellingham, Washington; and Mark (Kristen Grauman) Stephenson, Austin, Texas and former son-in-law, John Branson, Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also survived by eight amazing grandchildren that she loved, adored, and was so proud of Megan, Regan, Anna, Lauren, Eli, Isla, Will, and Levi; three brothers (Hector, Elias, and Rodrigo) and one sister (Esperanza); and numerous nieces and nephews. Francisca was preceded in death by her beloved husband Joe, in 2018; her parents; five sisters and four brothers.
We would like to thank our dear neighbors, Mike and Sue Avila, for being a big part of our family for over forty years and looking out for mom after daddy died. We would also like to thank everyone at CNS Hospice and particularly, Joelle and Jeannie, for their loving care of mom over the last eleven months. They became an important part of our family and we are grateful for all the hospice workers in the world. Mom also wanted to thank all of her children and grandchildren for taking such great care of her during her life. Her biggest wish was for all of us to be happy.
Mom’s favorite flower was the yellow rose. Whenever you see one, please take the time to smell it and think of our dear mom. In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the children’s charity of your choice in her memory. All of God’s children held a special place in her heart.
Francisca will be laid to rest at a private family ceremony at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. A celebration of her life will be held on June 10, 2023. For more details, please visit premierfuneral.com/obituaries/.
Vaya con dios, mamacita y abuelita!
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