Wichita restaurant family mourning sudden loss of son, brother, at age 48
A week ago Saturday, Maribel Howard noticed that her brother had gone missing at their family Mexican restaurant — Felipe’s Jr. at 9718 E. Harry. And that was a problem because Jose Martinez — who was waiting tables that evening — still had customers seated.
Pretty soon, Howard realized that her brother was sitting at the table with those customers, just chatting away.
“That’s just what he did,” she said. “Everyone loved him, and he cared about everyone. He asked about how your family was doing. If he knew that your dad was sick, he asked about your father. He was just a genuine, caring person.”
By the following Thursday, though, Jose was gone. Howard said that her brother, a 48-year-old married father of four, died suddenly from kidney failure, having gone to the doctor days before with a backache.
“They’re shocked because everyone just saw him,” Howard said. “Everyone is like, “He just waited on us. What do you mean he’s not here?”
The Martinez family will close the restaurant Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to attend funeral services.
Martinez’s parents, Martin and Arcelia Martinez, bought Felipe’s Jr. in January 1978 from founder Felipe Lujano, who was Arcelia’s uncle. Martinez was born the following month.
He grew up working in the restaurant alongside his siblings and made the family restaurant his career. Martinez did a little bit of everything in the restaurant, from cooking to bartending to waiting tables to managing employees. Whatever needed doing, his sister said, Martinez could be counted on to do.
He was a bit of a prankster and would sometimes carry a big tray of dishes to a table and drop it on purpose. His customers would gasp in horror until they realized the dishes were all empty.
The Martinez family recently decided to put the restaurant up for sale: Martin and Arcelia are nearing retirement, and the siblings want to try something else. Martinez, though, wanted to stay in the restaurant business. He’d been telling customers that he planned to open his own little restaurant in Andover.
Martinez’s sudden death has rattled his family, and in recent days, they’ve questioned if they really should sell the restaurant. Either way, it will remain open.
“If it doesn’t sell, we’ll just keep working,” Howard said. “We don’t have to sell. There is no timeline. We’re all going to be there, every day, kicking butt like we always do.”
Outside of work, Howard said, her brother was devoted to his wife of 24 years, Julie, and to his grown daughters, Madison, Mariah, Marissa and Melania, who range in age from 19 to 28. Martinez also was grandfather to 8-year-old Wren, and his first grandson is about to be born to daughter Marissa.
Martinez was extra excited about finally having a boy in his family of girls, his daughters said. Marissa plans to give her new son her father’s middle name, Armando.
He loved 1980s rock music and funny movies, Madison said. Some of his favorites were “Detroit Rock City,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Grumpy Old Men.”
“He watched the same scenes over and over again,” Madison said with a laugh. “He would show us the same scenes, and we’re like, ‘Dad, we’ve seen this a million times.’”
Because their father had met generations of customers during his time in the restaurant, he was like a local celebrity, they said. He’d even run into people who recognized him when the family was vacationing out of state.
“You couldn’t go anywhere with him,” Madison said.
Wren, Martinez’s granddaughter, said that she misses her Papa.
“He was very funny. He was very sarcastic. And sometimes when I was really sad, he would just say, ‘Look up.’ And then he would chop my neck,” she said.
That always made her feel less sad.
“I’m really glad that people really liked him. I hope he had a good life, and I hope that when I die, I will meet him.”
Martinez is also survived by brothers Victor and Martin Martinez.
A viewing will take place from 4 to 8 p.m Tuesday at Cochran Mortuary & Crematory, 1411 N. Broadway. Funeral services will begin with a rosary at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Church of the Magdalen, 12626 E. 21st St., followed by a Mass. A reception will follow at Felipe’s Jr. Mexican Restaurant.
This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 12:44 PM.
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