Obituary of Fernando L. Martins, Jr.

Fernando “Fred” L. Martins Jr., 73, of Manchester, formerly of Glastonbury and Hebron, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, April 24. He was the beloved father of Fernando L. Martins III.

Born in Hartford, Fernando was the son of the late Fernando L. Martins Sr. and Mary (Nunes) Martins of East Hartford.

Those who knew and loved Fred might be surprised to learn that he did NOT come out of the womb in a three-piece suit! Style and clothing were one of his passions and dressing to impress served him well. He followed an unconventional path in life driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and zest for life. After realizing that college was not for him, he embarked on the first of many successful businesses starting with Male Image, a clothing store in Hartford and NJ that he would fondly recall was a hot spot for nik nik shirts as well as all the latest trends and fashions.

Fred was always on the lookout for the “next hottest thing” and would continue to turn that into his next business endeavor. He opened and managed AudioVisual Environments in Glastonbury at the start of the home movie trend in the 80’s before Blockbuster opened. Many will remember him as the owner with the cat Shalamar on his shoulder and his parrot Rico greeting customers. From there he was involved in several other businesses including Beverly Hills Limousine as well as the Associate Publisher Director of PubLinks Golfer Magazine. But at his core he was a clothier and he continued to run his custom clothing business until his untimely death. Through that business he met many dear and close friends including Ray Allen, Donny Marshall and Kevin Ollie. Through his friendship with Ray Allen, Fred helped run the Ray of Hope Foundation and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of that charitable organization.

In his later years, Fred was never afraid to embark on something new. He started and continued to work as a successful real estate agent working with Coldwell Banker and most recently with Berkshire Hathaway.  Fred also became a member of the IATSE union and worked at many local theatres including the Bushnell and The Meadows, never afraid to roll up his sleeves and work alongside much younger men, which is why when his body started to fail him, it was a shock to his system. Yet he still had a fighting spirit and was working with business partners to investigate the possibility of opening a cannabis business.

As busy as he was, Fred found time in his younger years to follow his passion for sports. He was thrilled to play in the Men’s Senior Baseball League and win the World Series in Arizona. From that many strong bonds and friendships were formed including Dr. George Mantikas who has been a constant support to the family over the years.

Despite his love of business and sports, Fred was most passionate about his son Fernando. Fernando was truly the love of his life. Fred never missed a game, meet or school/life event that he was involved in and Fred happily coached many of Fernando’s teams from soccer to baseball. Fred also passed on his love of cars to Fernando and together they would watch car shows and shop for the next great car. Fred passed along his gift of salesmanship and the art of haggling with flair!

In addition to his son Fernando and Fernando’s mother Michelle Pawlina, Fred is survived by his sister Mary Alice and her husband David Coelho of Portugal, his niece Sandra and husband Joao Cardeno, nephew David Jr. and wife Sandra Coelho as well as several grand nieces and nephews all of Portugal. He is also survived by his closest and steadfast friend Dean Santostefano.

The family would like to thank Nurse Sarah and the whole team at DCI, Manchester Dialysis for the care they provided. Without them there is no doubt that Fred would have left us much sooner than he did.

A celebration of life will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday May 13 at 11am.  Burial will follow in St. Mary Cemetery, East Hartford.  Friends may call on Tuesday, May 12 from 4pm to 7pm at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Kidney Fund at https://www.kidneyfund.org/tribute-wall

A Go Fund Me has been set up to assist with Fernando’s education at https://gofund.me/e297b0b13  or https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-fernandos-journey-through-college-and-loss