Henry G. Martinez

Henry G. Martinez, born March 27, 1943, in Gonzales, Texas passed away Feb. 7 from complications due to pneumonia. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 54 years, Gloria Martinez.

He was born to Anastacio Vargas Martinez and Hilaria “Clemencia” Garcia. After graduating from Gonzales High School in 1961, Henry began his career in the commercial printing business as a general industry apprentice in color separation and offset printing. Henry became part owner of Graphic Arts Services Inc. in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1968. Moving to Dallas in 1972, Henry and his lifelong business partner and brother, Charles Martinez, founded Martinez Graphic Arts Inc. This company later became Martinez and Rutter.

As a result of the success of Martinez and Rutter, Henry was invited to the White House in 1983 to meet with then Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush. The Vice President and President Ronald Reagan recognized Henry as an outstanding businessman.

In 1984 Martinez and Rutter was sold to Beatrice Foods Co. and merged with a subsidiary of BFC, Techtron. Henry became General Manager of the resulting company, Martinez & Rutter/Techtron Dallas. In 1991, Henry and Charles founded MGI Studio, a prepress services company. He was a noted authority on commercial color printing and was well respected in the Print and Pre-Press Industry for more than 45 years. Henry was on the Board of Directors for the Republic bank of Oak Cliff for many years and was a member of several business related and graphic arts-oriented organizations as well. His extensive knowledge of color, color science, pre-press and printing allowed Henry to become an innovator in the industry.

In 1996, Henry embarked on a lifetime project to solve one of the long-standing problems plaguing the commercial print industry - how to compensate for the ways that different inks, combinations of colors, substrates, coatings, environment factors and the characteristics of individual presses affect the output of commercial presses. Henry founded Color Control Network (later CCN Software Group, LLC) as a vehicle for creating an improved means of predicting how color would behave on commercial printing presses. Through his work with Color Control Network Henry was granted five patents. He was a hard worker with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneur to the end.

In his personal life, Henry loved his family most dearly and above all else. He was always available to provide guidance, support, or just offer compassion. While he was known to be dedicated to his work and for putting in long hours, he always made time for a family member or friend in need. He was a mentor to many but to none more than his son, Marcus, and daughter, Faith. He brought both into the family business, and taught them the value of hard work, the importance of relationships and the nuances of running a successful business.

Henry also loved his music. In his youth, he played drums in a band named the Twilights, that he and a few high school friends put together, playing dances around the Gonzales area. Most recently, in his pseudo-retired years, he decided to learn to play the bass guitar and enjoyed playing with and teaching his grandson, Nicolas as well. The music he enjoyed listening to covered a wide range from Andrea Bocelli to Celia Cruz, from Louis Prima to Stevie Ray Vaughan, from BB King to Lady Gaga.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Alfred Martinez, sister-in-law Paula Martinez and brother-in-law Eusebio “Cheve” Camarillo.

He is survived by his wife, Gloria, his daughter, Faith and husband David Culotta, his son Marcus Martinez, brother Charles Martinez and wife Dora, sister Luz and husband Robert Garcia, sister Minnie Camarillo, sister Delia and husband John Leal, grandchildren, Nicolas and McKenzie Culotta, sisters-in-law, Della Cruz, Vel Tamez, Sandy and husband Bill Taylor, brother-in-law Lino and wife Hortense Carrasco, many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews and many cousins and dear friends. He was loved and will be missed by all.

* In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in the name of Henry & Gloria Martinez to the St. Monica Capital Campaign. Visit stmonicaschool.org/capital-campaign/ for more information and to donate.