Louis Antonio Martinez

Louis Antonio Martinez, age 51, of Hanover, IL passed away on November 3, 2023. A funeral service will be held at Pentecostal Church at 407 Fillmore Street, on Saturday November 18th, 2023. Family and friends are invited to share in Louis’s life at lawjonesfuneralhome.com.

Louis was born March 27, 1972 in Chicago, IL, the son of Angel Martinez and Rosalia Pena. Louis attended school mostly in Chicago, as well as in Puerto Rico, when he stayed with family for a few years. As a teenager, he moved back to Chicago where he would have his first daughter, Priscilla then in his early twenties had Rose, whom he called Rosie Martinez, followed by his son Louis Martinez, also becoming a father to his step son, Christian Gonzalez.

Throughout his twenties, Louis lived in New York and Connecticut, pursuing varying work opportunities. In his late twenties, Louis moved back to Chicago and became an electrician, and also worked in sales at times. Before long, his opportunities led him to Florida, where he would meet his love, Yvette. Together they had two children, Antonio and Angel. In 2014 their family moved to Chicago, then ultimately settled in Hanover, earlier this year.

Louis loved cooking and creating dishes from scratch, he’d talked about opening his own food cart or restaurant for years, and upon his untimely passing we were in process of making that dream a reality, of opening a location in Hanover called Spanky’s HotDogs, Chicago Style, which will serve classic and Chicago-style hotdogs and also introduce Latin dishes that complemented his Puerto Rican culture, which he was very proud of, and that he wanted to bring to the area. By God’s grace and provision we will still make his dream a reality, and keep alive his legacy to pass onto his children.

With only being in Hanover and in the area barely six months, we are moved by how many people my husband, and father of six, has touched. There has been an amazing outpouring of support during this time of loss. Louis naturally drew people by his caring and charismatic spirit. Although having that roughneck city exterior that helped him survive in tumultuous situations in his life, under that was a man that was compassionate, giving, and had a heart bigger than he was.

Of course, there were things Louis was remorseful about, and wished he could do differently that bothered him, but it was a pleasure to know that through that pain, there was a silver lining that he would always say “live for today because I don’t know if I’m gonna wake up tomorrow”. He found solace in sharing the company with a few he became close with in the community by cooking, eating, drinking, listening to music, playing dominos and just hanging out. He is remembered for his jokes, and charismatic spirit by many, and is terribly missed. Louis will be truly missed and remembered, and his legacy will be kept alive, that’s a promise.
Louis will be dearly missed by his wife, Yvette Huntley; children, Priscilla Martinez, Rosa Martinez, Louis Martinez, Antonio Martinez, and Angel Martinez; nine grandchildren; brothers, Israel Pena, Charlie, Velasquez, Wilson Velasquez, David Velaquez, Carlos Velasquez; sisters, Sokie, Milagros Velaquez, Awilda, Marisol Velasquez; and many other extended family members. Louis is preceded in death by his parents; son, Christian Gonzalez; brothers, Junior Velasquez, Elvis Martinez; and sister, Reina Pena. He will be missed by many other family members; excuse me if I didn’t name everyone individually, there's a lot to remember at this hurting time. Louis loved his immediate family, and family despite any differences, he loved his friends and people overall, he wasn’t perfect, but he always had a lot of love. You’re not here physically with us, but your spirit is alive, and you will stay relevant and Never Be Forgotten. Love you forever!

" Admired for your strength through the turmoil, you still managed to leave your mark in this world, you will always be the love of my life.”
-Yvette