Our People: Locally grown

Joan Martinez-Terry has lived in New Mexico all her life. Her family came to Portales from Villanueva in1946 as farmworkers. Her father was a WWII veteran of the Army Air Corp, having served in France. She was born in Villanueva at the end of 1948 because her mother decided to go home for her birth. Her grandmother was a midwife and delivered her.

Her family never left Portales so she grew up and went to the local schools and then to Eastern New Mexico University's Clovis campus after her first marriage. She went to school through a program that paid her a stipend and mileage to attend. The program assisted her with employment and she came to work for the City of Portales on July 1, 1981, as a department secretary in the Community Development Block Grant office. Martinez-Terry has worked for the City of Portales for 36 years.

She has three children — Manuel, Joe and Gail.

What do you like about your job?

Meeting, talking to people and helping them in some way.

What don't you like about your job?

Deadlines.

What's your idea of a perfect day?

Sun shining, moderately cool, people happy.

Tell us a story about your childhood.

When I was 13 years old, a friend and I were bullied while walking home from school by some older girls and my mother went straight to the parents of the leader of the girls and expressed her displeasure. The bullying stopped.

What's your favorite TV show, past and present?

"Bonanza" and "Law & Order SVU."

What is your favorite quote?

"There, but for the Grace of God, go I."

Tell us about your parents.

Modesto Martinez — he once was described as "what you see is what you get." He never pretended to be more than he was - a simple man. Rita Martinez — a justice warrior — she saw wrong and was not afraid to speak up. My parents were my heroes.

What's so great about your favorite sport?

The feeling of freedom while riding a motorcycle.

Tell us how you met your spouse.

I met my husband, Ray Terry, at my aunt Mary's house while I was visiting her. I found out that he had lived less than a block from my home when I was in my twenties and we never saw each other until we met at my aunt's home.

What's your favorite song at the moment?

"The Dance" by Garth Brooks.

What do you do when you're not working?

I read as many books as possible.

— Compiled by The News Correspondent D'Nieka Hartsfield