Marti Franco

Marti Franco, 102, founder of Marti's Gifts in 1954 in Avenida Guerrero, beloved mother, grandmother, community advocate and friend, peacefully passed away peacefully in the comfort of her home surrounded by her family by her side.

Marti has been a member of this community since the early 1950's. She was blessed with over a century of life. Sra. Marti was known for her unique touch of interior decorating, where she started, which eventually transitioned into clothing design and paintings. She loved to travel and would often bring many talented artists to her gallery on Avenida Guerrero, known as Galeria Suneson. During her working years, Sra. Marti decorated many homes, ranches, and businesses, thanks to her lifelong friends, Mrs. Killam, the Longoria's, who helped spread the word of her many talents. There are countless memories that forever be etched in the minds and hearts of all who had the privilege of having known her.

Ever the saavy connesiouer, she fell in love with Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she developed properties that are still managed by her family until this day.

Sra. Marti helped everyone with her talents including many churches, including the now Catedral del Espiritu Santo and was important in the renovation of the Stained Glass Windows as well as donating religious works of art, of the Iglesia de Santo Nino in downtown Nuevo Laredo, whose plaque of gratitude reads her name. Sra. Marti only decided to wind down in her community engagements at her 90's. Many of her community engagements are noted in both the Laredo Morning Times and El Manana de Nuevo Laredo.

Sra. Marti is preceded in death by her parents: Felipe Franco and Rebecca Bejar; sons: Robert Ruben Barnstone and Pablo Jacobo Suneson; sister's: Adela Frank and Luisa Muzinek and her brother Samuel Bautista Franco; nieces and nephews: Jackie Frank and Linda Frank, and Abraham Muzinek.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughter: Ricarda Suneson Ortiz; son: Ronald Allen Barnstone; grandchildren: Jose Manuel Isaiah Ortiz, Arnoldo Francisco Ortiz, Yael Suneson Dryden-Preskill, Nathanael Suneson, Danny Suneson, Michael Suneson, Gracie Suneson, Mateo Barnstone, Anatole Barnstone, Garbiela Barnstone; great-grandchildren: Clara Barnstone, Millie Barnstone, Henry Barnstone; beloved nieces and nephews: Anna Frank Fisher, Viviana Frank Rotnofsky, Betty Muzinek, Samuel Muzinek, and many more nieces, nephews, great nephews, great nieces from Puebla, Puebla and Mexico City

Sra. Marti fell in love with Laredo, its sunsets and its people. May her soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life and may her memory forever be a blessing.

In lieu of flowers, and in honoring her memory, you are invited to make a contribution to Congregation Agudas Achim or a charity of your choice.

The family will gather on Friday, March 28, 2025, from 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. at Hillside Funeral Home.

The Jewish Funeral Service will commence at 1:30 p.m. in the funeral chapel with Rabbi Gabriel Frydman.

Cortege will depart at 2 p.m. from the funeral chapel to the Laredo City Cemetery-Jewish Rest, where she will be laid to rest.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the attention, care and direction of Hillside Funeral Home, Manuel de Jesus Osorio, Managing Director; 310 W. Hillside Rd.; Laredo, TX 78041; 956.724.6060