Martha Cecelia Navia-Sanchez

Martha Cecilia Navia Sánchez:

The unfolding of a life gives light, an influence that can never be extinguished.

This past week, Martha Cecilia Navia Sánchez, beloved wife and cherished mother, passed away – however, her light endures.

As a gifted teacher, licensed Social Worker, and woman of service, she was a lamp that lit the way for others. She worked with children with special education needs, also teaching religious education classes, inspiring children to light the candle of faith in their own hearts. She taught at the University of Cincinnati and in Centerville High School’s Home Instruction Program, providing the gift of education to students with acute medical or psychological conditions that kept them from attending school, by teaching them at home. She was a woman of service who moved beyond the ordinary world, dancing within the sphere of divine mentorship and guidance.  Reminding us that service is the most powerful way to create meaning in our lives. She was very active in Incarnation Church parish, coordinating charity donations, arranging clothing drives for the homeless, wrapping Christmas gifts for impoverished children, also serving as the chair of the parish Ladies Bridge Group.


Her love story with her husband began with a dance when she was 15 years old in Cali, Colombia. From there, their union created twin boys and one of her greatest passions – as a devoted homemaker to her family. Her prayers wove their home together. She inspired her family to be kind, to be good, to be vessels of God’s love, to be extensions of her love in the world.


She was very devoted to the faith, often saying “Keep the Faith.”



As a person of action, one of her favorite sayings was “Don’t leave for tomorrow, what you can do today.”



She danced with colors into everyone’s lives – she once said, “I want to die dancing” and she did pass from this world into God’s arms, dancing from a beautiful life that she created for us here, into the eternal grace of the afterlife.


She is survived by her husband, Alfonso, and their twin sons, Raúl and Rod. The Mass of Christian Burial is on Thursday, October 13th, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Incarnation Church, 7415 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, OH 45459, with visitation before the service in the church at 10:15 a.m.

She was a light in this world and her light endures. Her living light remains among us forever.