Mercedes M. Soto

Mercedes born September 24, 1925 in Santa Rosa, CA, the 3rd child of Manuel and Cristina Martinez, passed away peacefully on February 7, 2026 in her home with family by her side.

She attended Healdsburg Schools including some one room school houses. She graduated Class of 1945. From a young age, she and her siblings worked picking crops throughout Sonoma County including prunes, grapes and other fruits; this went on for 17 years.

Her Martinez Family settled at 204 Center Street in Healdsburg and this home became the gathering place for many family members. One evening in 1950, her mother asked if she was going with the family to a party in town. Mercedes did not feel like going but her mother insisted. It was at this party that she saw a young man, Vincent P. Soto. This was it for both of them and thus began an almost 50 year marriage.

In the late 60's Vincent asked a realtor to look for some land and Vincent and Mercedes were shown 5 acres in the Dry Creek Valley which included one of the last orchards of Gravenstein apples and Italian prune trees. In the early 70's, they moved onto the property with their two daughters Sylvia and Cindy. While both of them worked day jobs, they began to harvest the beautiful soil with onions, corn, garlic, tomatoes, corn, peppers and much more. In 1978, they became one of about eight original produce vendors at the Healdsburg Farmer's Market. This was located at an old prune dryer at the end of East St. Ironically, right around the corner from 204 Center St. where their lives began together. They continued attending various markets in Sonoma County. Vincent passed in 2001 and this ended their journey trekking produce to the market.

Mercedes also worked at Shoffeit's Spice Plant in Healdsburg and very much loved all the Shoffeitt Family. After this she worked throughout the Healdsburg Schools as a Bilingual Teacher's Aid and still saw some of her students in town, always a visit filled with a smile and a hug. Her grandson, Derek "DJ" was born in 1990 and he became her pride and joy. He attended St. John's Catholic School to which she quickly signed up to volunteer in all his classes. She became a familiar face to all the students. She truly loved helping out and spending her days with DJ. One of her most special days was seeing DJ graduate from Sonoma State. There were a few more milestones that Mercedes treasured, such as DJ's marriage to Stephanie and welcoming two great grandsons, Greyson and Weston. She felt God kept her alive for these reasons.

Mercedes was a regular at Bingo at the Healdsburg Senior Center, she made rubber stamped greeting cards and sold over 800, she was a faithful 49er fan and absolutely loved the SF Giants. She would not miss a game and looked forward to the next.

Last September her 100th Birthday was celebrated with over 65 family and friends. She was completely overjoyed to achieve this age and thanked all who attended. The party went well into the evening and Mercedes didn't miss a minute.

Mercedes was preceded in death by her husband, Vincent; parents, Manuel and Cristina Martinez; siblings, Ruth Orosco (Manuel), Juanita Vasquez (Salvador), Manuel Martinez (Blanche), Jesse Martinez. She is survived by Sylvia, Cindy, Mitch, Derek "DJ", Stephanie; great grandsons, Greyson and Weston. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Kathleen Martinez as well as many nephews and nieces who she loved dearly.

Special thank you to her caregivers, Maggie and Lai as well as Joe Martinez, Mercedes' godson who visited her daily during the last few months of her life. She referred to him as, "The Cook," with a smile on her face. She was happiest when family and friends visited.

Mercedes lived life with her beautiful smile and positive outlook on life. She was a strong Catholic whose faith carried her in all her days.

Services will be held at St. John's Catholic Church, Healdsburg on February 20, 2026 with a viewing from 10-11AM and a mass at 11AM. Burial at Oak Mound Cemetery following.

Published in Healdsburg Tribune · February 17, 2026