Anthony M.

By Anthony's brother, Gino

Anthony Martinez

Gaffney, South Carolina

Anthony was set free from his toxic battle with addiction on May 24th 2016.

Anthony was our family's Christmas present--born on December 25th 1987.

Our father abandoned us when Anthony was very young and he could never seem to shake the pain of it. Yet he yearned for a life of love and peace--a life without pain. Anthony was a lover of music; you could always count on him to know the latest and greatest tracks. He was passionate about cooking and often volunteered to make everyone dinner. When he did, every plate was licked clean. Ant also loved being outdoors and whenever he had spare time, you could bet he was fishing, hunting or simply enjoying himself in some beautiful place.

My brother said things straight--he wouldn’t sugar coat a single thing. He was a loyal friend; if you needed his help he would be there no matter what. He knew how to make the most pessimistic person crack a smile. In some ways, Anthony embodied the saying that the saddest soul is the one trying to make everyone else smile.

The disease of addiction is a merciless, non-discriminatory devil. The loss of my big brother has created a sore on my heart that will never heal. We must fight to end this epidemic. We owe it to every life that has been lost--every senseless death.

I will always miss Anthony--our talks, the fun times and the bad times too. As we laid Anthony to rest I told him, “It's never goodbye just see you later.” I know his spirit is forever with us even though his physical form was taken by heroin.