Elizabeth "Biffer" Martins

Elizabeth “Biffer” Martins was born in Illinois in 1922 and grew up in a small suburb of Rock Island called Milan. She loved school and tap dancing!  She graduated from Rock Island High School where she was the valedictorian.

Following her high school graduation, her family moved to New Mexico, where her father had been born.  Biffer used the shorthand she had learned in high school to work as a court reporter for the District court in Albuquerque. Biffer met her husband, Johnny, at a dance at Kirkland Air Force Base. They married shortly after he returned from WWII and eventually settled in Espanola. Biffer was very active at Valley View United Methodist church in Espanola.  She was the church treasurer for 50 years and participated in the women’s church group until the age of 93.  She had many church friends and working in the church was a main focus of her life. Biffer loved to get together with her friends and have dinner parties, go to Santa Fe for lunch, and just visit with them.  She was a social butterfly!  She also loved to work outside in the garden but hated to cook!  She continued to live in Espanola and was blessed with amazing support from her neighbors, Johnny and Sharon Borrego, and her great friends, Ruthie Dunn and Kathy Jarrett.

Biffer moved to Albuquerque after breaking her ankle in 2015.  She lived at Stardust House (Prime Time Living) where she loved to sit on the front porch or do crossword puzzles. She broke her hip in August of this year and relocated to Haven Care’s Cottonwood home where she was given amazing care until her death on November 7, 2017.  She also received amazing care and support from Hospice De La Luz.

Burial has taken place in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.  If you wish to remember her, take a walk in the New Mexico sunshine, watch for wildlife, and give some extra love to your pets in her honor.