Martha "Marty" Rinkus

Martha Ann Rinkus (nee Schweizer) 10/18/1941 - 04/19/2018 It is with great sadness we announce the sudden passing of Martha Ann Rinkus (Marty) following complications after heart surgery. Marty was born near Buffalo, NY in the small town of Holland. Marty was the oldest daughter of Sam and Ida Schweizer (nee Becker) where the family attended Holland Methodist Church. Marty was an avid reader from an early age and she collected the detective novels of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. She also enjoyed the music of Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and The Four Freshman. Marty attended Alfred University in upstate NY where she acquired a nursing degree. It was on a blind date at Alfred where she met her first husband, Dominick LaTonzea. Dominick was the son of Tony and Lucille LaTonzea (nee Strack) from Utica, NY. The couple was united in matrimony at St. Felix Catholic Church in Clifton Springs, NY on 12/23/1961 and soon after they purchased their first home in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Marty and Dominick enjoyed their years in Ohio, making many close friends and spending evenings playing cards late into the night. The couple raised three children: Brian (Patricia), Tim (Deb) and Michael Anthony. Dominick's profession as a ceramic engineer moved the LaTonzea family several times. Vacations usually involved piling the kids into the back of the station wagon, driving hundreds of miles to look at various Revolutionary War or Civil War cannons. Over the years the family lived in Venezuela, Tupelo MS, Branchburg NJ, Lexington KY and Morgantown WV. It was in Morgantown where Dominick passed away unexpectedly in 1985. Shortly after Dominick's death, Marty's now widowed mother Ida joined her in Morgantown. They spent many years together visiting family, hosting holidays and getting out to enjoy the beautiful gardens, state parks and arboretums in Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia. Marty also rekindled her career in the medical field, working as a medical technician at the University of West Virginia. Marty thoroughly enjoyed her job and made many friends during this period. These dear friends greatly helped Marty through the tragedy of losing her youngest son Michael in 2002. It was at this time that Marty found love and happiness again thanks to the wonderful Jim Rinkus. Jim was recently widowed after losing his wife Shirley a few years earlier. Jim introduced Marty to Las Vegas, Foxwoods, black jack card counting, martinis and happy hour. The couple wed on 5/16/2003 at the Flamingo Las Vegas and enjoyed life in Lakeville, MA. Marty was immediately embraced by her new family, stepdaughter Julie (Mike St. Don) and David as well as her new grandchildren. Marty's sons will be forever grateful for how warmly Jim's children welcomed Marty into her new family. It was also during this marriage when Marty and Jim began enjoying winter visits to Satellite Beach, often staying for several weeks at the Paradise Beach Club. Jim and Marty spent several fun filled years together before Jim's passing in the summer of 2015. Marty had now grown a great fondness for the Melbourne beach area and in late 2015 moved into what would be her final residence, the Indialantic, FL condo "The Reef". New friendships were quickly built and she greatly enjoyed her final days cruising, shopping and walking on the beach. Marty was blessed with both a quick wit and also the special gift of building strong friendships with virtually everyone she met. She also took great pride in and relished the company of her grandchildren Sam, Mitchell, Sienna and Alyssa as well as step-grandchildren Sara, Hannah and Jakob. Marty is survived by her older brother Lawrence (Martha) and younger siblings Walter (Bonnie), Mary (Matt Walsh) and David (Sherrie). We will miss her forever. The family will celebrate Marty with a memorial service on May 5th.