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Friends and family gathered Nov. 28 at a well-attended memorial service for Max Martinez.
Though he had a life of service as a labor organizer and social worker before coming to town, he was best known by locals as San Juan Bautista’s Santa Claus, by children for his magic tricks and balloon animals at public events—a throwback to his clown training—and by music lovers for his karaoke and performances with The Ukulele Jammers.
Martinez’s cheerful presence was a fixture in the town until a 2023 stroke incapacitated him, leading to his death on Nov. 11. At the end of the memorial, his family passed out copies of his business cards and the ‘Clown’s Prayer’ printed on the back side, offering an insight into his philosophy: “As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears, dispense more happiness than gloom, spread more cheer than despair.”
Sylvia Sahagun Gonzalez was a witness to one such act of kindness. She met Martinez eight years ago at Windmill Market, and the two bonded over shared interests, such as day trips to Monterey or the San Benito County Historical Park.
Gonzalez recalled that on one of their visits to the Monterey Aquarium, the family ahead of them in line was turned away because they didn’t have enough money for the four tickets they needed. After Martinez bought tickets for himself and Gonzalez, he suggested they take a walk before entering.
“We took a walk down through the Cannery,” she said. “It turned out that he was on a hunt for that family. He had not said anything to me before we found them, but he had bought tickets for them.”
In his eulogy, Max Martinez, Jr. said that his father was “the provider, the protector, the educator, and the gentleman.”
“Close your eyes and picture Max in your head,” he said. “Can you see him smiling, joking, singing, walking, marching, performing? I can. When I close my eyes, I see a phenomenal man who did everything he could for his family.”
Martinez was born on Feb. 23, 1942, in Garcia, Colorado, a town even smaller than San Juan. He moved to California at an early age, when his parents came to Oakland to find work. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Army as a mechanic and served in Germany, where he witnessed the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Returning home, he worked in electronics and for an international roller derby league before studying economics and business at UC Santa Cruz. He also became a community organizer, bringing students to Delano to help migrants during the farmworker strikes.
“Max was one of those people that you would find on the front line,” longtime friend Graciela Serna Nutter said. “He was not afraid when the goons with their bats would show up. He gave with every part of his heart, mind and soul.”
Martinez also worked for a career training company in San Jose that instructed low-income and disadvantaged community members on how to find employment.
Martinez retired in 2013 and moved to San Juan. In a 2019 BenitoLink interview, he said he was drawn by the small-town resemblance to his birthplace and had an inkling that he could find a way to contribute.
“I’m a resource for people,” he said. “I thought, ‘If people see what I can do, maybe they’ll invite me to do something here. I could still do balloons and puppet shows for the kids. I didn’t need to make money. I just wanted to serve the community.”
The first person he said he met was Patricia Bains, owner of Mrs. B’s Z-Place, who said she got him to consider taking on the role of Santa.
“He told me he had never been a Santa before,” she said. “He said, ‘I’ve only been a clown.’ And I said, ‘Well, if you can be a clown, you most definitely should be able to be a Santa.’”
Prematurely gray, he thrived on his resemblance to Father Christmas and on the interaction with the children—and sometimes adults—who came to make their holiday wishes known.
“He loved being Santa,” Gonzalez said. “This guy sat on his lap one day and told him, ‘I want youth.’ Max said, ‘Well, I can’t help you. You got to pray to God for that.’ I miss him a lot, you know.”
In 2020, Martinez pulled an old mailbox out of his garage and gave it to Bains to include in a Christmas display in the parklet in front of her store. Children could leave letters for Santa, and Bains would deliver them to him for a response.
“He sent answers back to every one of them,” Bains said. “It was amazing. It was as special to him as it was to the people receiving them. He seemed to enjoy everything and everybody. He just loved people.”
In 2023, at the age of 81, Martinez suffered a severe stroke which weakened his left side and left him bedridden. Cared for by his family, wheelchair-bound but still able to travel, his health decayed as his body began to fail.
He was surrounded by family when the end came, peacefully. In his eulogy, Max Jr. addressed Martinez as he described his final moments.
“I remember when you prayed with me as a child,” Max Jr. said in his eulogy, “and when you cried out for help and said you wanted to go home. I was there to tell you, ‘I love you, you’re safe, and it’s okay to sleep.’ With his last breath, the doors opened up, and my dad was in heaven.”
Max Martinez. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Max Martinez with balloon swords. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Max Martinez Sabrina Mayer 
Max Martinez. Courtesy of Max Martinez, Jr. 
Max Martinez in his final days. Photo by Francisco Martinez. 
Max Jr. and Max Martinez, Courtesy of Max Martinez, Jr. 
Max Martinez. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Max Martinez. Photo by Robert Eliason.
Max Martinez: Feb. 23, 1942 – Nov. 11, 2025
The Clown’s Prayer
As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more happiness than gloom, spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent that I will fail to see
the wonders in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy,
and forget, momentarily, all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper:
“When you made My people smile, You made Me smile.”
– Author unknown
Related stories
Max Martinez: a Santa for San Juan Bautista (2019)
San Juan Bautista hosts special mailbox for Santa (2020)
https://benitolink.com/San Juan Bautista’s Santa Claus is down but not out (2023)
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