Ryane Martinez-Garibay, daughter of slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay, clutches the American flag as the casket bearing the body of her mother is brought past an honor guard into the funeral mass at St. Augustine Cathedral on Thursday.
Margaret Martinez hugs Joe Martinez at the casket of their daughter, Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay, after a funeral mass at St. Augustine Cathedral on Thursday.
Photos of slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay and her husband and daughter are displayed during a funeral mass at St. Augustine Cathedral.
Ryane Martinez-Garibay, daughter of slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay, clutches the American flag as the casket bearing the body of her mother is brought past an honor guard into the funeral mass at St. Augustine Cathedral on Thursday.
Rick Wiley photos, Arizona Daily Star
Photos of slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay and her husband and daughter are displayed during a funeral mass at St. Augustine Cathedral.
Mamta Popat photos, Arizona Daily Star
Pallbearers carry the casket containing the body of Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay into St. Augustine Cathedral.
Mamta Popat Arizona Daily Star
Bishop Edward Weisenburger presides over a funeral mass for slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay.
Mourners filled the pews in St. Augustine Cathedral on Thursday for the funeral Mass for Deborah Martinez-Garibay, the Pima County constable who was shot while serving an eviction notice last week.
Deborahβs daughter, Ryane Martinez-Garibay, passionately clutched an American flag in honor of her mother, leading her casket in a procession to the head of the church. Among others, Deborahβs father Joe Martinez and her husband Gabriel Garibay served as pallbearers, carrying their loved one to the cathedralβs grand arch.
Dozens of family members, friends, law enforcement personnel and local government officials attended the Mass in the downtown cathedral. Among the dark-colored clothing of most attendees, a few pews shone with the red polo shirts of PGA HOPE members whom Deborah volunteered with through the adaptive golf program for veterans she ran in Tucson.
Last Thursday, Deborah was one of three killed at Lind Commons Apartments after a man being evicted shot her, apartment manager Angela Fox-Heath and bystander Elijah Miranda before turning the gun on himself.
Former Pueblo High School Principal Richard Gastelum, who worked at the school when Deborah and her three older sisters went there, provided a eulogy on the familyβs behalf.
He told attendees about how Deborah expressed insecurity to her sister while training for military intelligence in Afghanistan. Her sister, Michelle Martinez-LaVetter, βgot on her case and boosted her confidence that as a woman, she was just as smart and capable as a man,β Gastelum said.
Deborah earned the title of Master Interrogator as a military intelligence specialist and acquired the rank of Army staff sergeant.
Deborahβs boldness preceded her military career, as on her 18th birthday, she married without telling her parents, Gastelum said, and Deborah and Gabriel Garibay returned to their separate homes after tying the knot.
βCan you imagine the expression on (her motherβs) face when Deborah flashed the wedding ring? I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Joe got home,β Gastelum joked.
He said Deborah took on the constable position βto continue her life and service to the communityβ and that she βplanned to approach people with empathy and humanity, characteristics learned from a lifetime of giving.β
Deborahβs death is still being investigated by law enforcement, but itβs surfaced larger questions about the role of a constable, and her family has demanded answers about the circumstances of the death.
βThere are numerous discussions at Pima County and the city of Tucson. Police will be changing policies and protocols regarding the responsibilities of the constable position,β Gastelum said. βWhen change happens, every sacrifice will not have been in vain.β
Gastelum ended his eulogy by sharing a sentiment from Martinez-Garibayβs mother, Margaret Martinez
βDeborah was deployed to Afghanistan, her mother Margaret asked God to protect her. She was putting her daughter in his hands,β he said. βShe now says it was an honor to be her mother, and again, putting Deborah in Godβs loving hands.β
In addition to her husband and daughter, Deborah is survived by her parents, Joe and Margaret Martinez, and her sisters Connie Hall, Michelle Martinez-LaVetter and Joanna Caballero.
Photos: Funeral for Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
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Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay
Updated
Funeral service for Pima County constable at St. Augustine Cathedral