HOUSTON – Hundreds attended the funeral mass for Father T.J. Martinez at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Downtown Houston. They weren't there to mark his death, but to celebrate his remarkable life.
"He never forgot a person's name," said attendee Gayle Longmire. "You could meet him once and he'd remember you."
"(He was a) positive person," said student Amado Teran. "He always found good things, anything that he brought to mind, he would never say anything negative. He would always bring something positive."
Father T.J., as he was affectionately known, is being remembered in other ways as well. Friends are recirculating a tribute video to Martinez released a few years ago. In it his magnetic smile lights up the screen and he's surrounded by the students he loved.
Martinez grew up in Brownsville and joined the priesthood after graduating from Boston College. He founded the Cristo Rey Jesuit School in 2009, fulfilling a dream to create a college preparatory school for students from underprivileged families.
"He kept a smile on his face," said sophomore Timiya Lewis. "Every time he walked in the room he would just lighten the room up."
"He motivated me to go to college and encouraged me to do something outside of the box," said Teran, a senior at Cristo Rey.
Martinez died Friday after a seven-month battle with stomach cancer. He lived only 44 years but the impact he had on the community will last much longer.
"It will continue for many, many years to come," said Cristo Rey supporter Bob Longmire. "He's created a foundation which is going to flourish, believe me."
In 2013 and 2014 every member of Cristo Rey's graduating class was accepted to college.