GLORIA MARTHAI

—In Memoriam—

Our community has lost one of the finest ladies to have ever called our beloved little corner of Mexico her home. Gloria and her late husband Jim came to Lakeside in 1969, and quickly fell in love with Mexico—and almost as quickly their Mexican neighbors fell in love with them.

Both were generous to a fault, and seemed simpatico with the people, culture and history of their adopted country as very few ex-pats have ever been. Gloria, an accomplished horsewoman, was always involved in the local community, and regularly attended fiestas, corridas and parades, where she cut a most handsome figure atop her favorite horse.

Over the past few decades, Gloria also wrote many articles for our magazine, as graceful and gracious in print as she was in person. Very few ex-pats have ever drawn portraits of their adopted country and its people with such loving and perceptive strokes. In her honor, and for the edification and pleasure of our readers, El Ojo del Lago will reprint some of her articles over the next several months.

She was also a longtime member of the Ajijic Writers’ Group, and had won several of our magazine’s yearly awards for literary excellence.  Gloria is survived by her two children, Sunny Russell and Robert Marthai.

 Thanks for the memories, dear lady.

ag