Darlene M. Martinez (Ruiz) our beloved Mother, Wife, Grandma, Aunt, and sister passed away on August 25, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah surrounded by her family. She was born on November 3, 1966 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Antonio G. Ruiz & Sophie M. Manzanares, and was the baby sister out of 19 siblings. Growing up outside of Salt Lake City, she had a passion for the lowrider community and owned a candy apple red lowrider bike while in her teens. Many of her family and friends remembered her that way, and how much she loved her bike. She was also big in music and listened to many genres like classic R&B, 80’s electro, country and spanish music. On December 24th, 2013 she married her long time boyfriend Tommy Abel Brito.

Darlene loved to fish, go camping and be in the mountains next to her favorite Lilly Lake up at the Uinta’s, where she mostly taught all her kids how to fish. She also loved spending time with her kids, grandkids, her brother, and her niece, and when they played sports, she made sure to be the loudest one out there! She instilled in her kids (both at home and with the kids she worked with) to be strong, proud, and tough so no one could easily push you around. She was very strong willed and stubborn, but taught us to stand up for what you believe in.

Darlene loved to party with her family, and she was the best smack talker out there! She did it with just enough finesse that not only would it make you try to think of a comeback, but you would start laughing because of how she said it. She was very proud of her accomplishments she achieved in life, like getting both an Associates & Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, as well putting her all into her job at JJYS.

She may have had cancer, but her strong will and desires didn’t stop her one bit. She loved to cook, even though every time she did she cooked for an army and would always have plenty for whoever showed up. She always loved to play jokes on her husband. Watching her kids and grandkids laugh always brought joy to her. She was definitely someone you could just call and talk to you. Whether it was just to talk about your day or to gossip about what you just went through, she would listen and give you her “2 cents”.

She would light up any room she walked in, always with a smile on her face. She would always make sure she knew you were there, because she made sure you knew she was there. Darlene was definitely one in a million. Anyone who had the opportunity to know her, knew that from that day on she would be your biggest supporter, but once you messed up she would be the first to call you out on it. She was big on following the rules, except when it came to people she worked with, she would break the rules just to give someone the benefit of the doubt. Whether it was doing puzzles with them or buying them a cake for their birthday, she always made sure that everyone was included in whatever activity she was part of. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Darlene is survived by her husband Tommy Brito and her 9 kids; Johnny (Tara), Tony, Dominic (Kristine), Christopher (Amanda), Monique, Salena (Joseph), Sarena (Taylor), Antonio, Lyric, 12 grandkids, 4 brothers, 4 sisters, numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by 1 grandkid, both her parents, 5 brothers, 5 sisters, and her godson.

Viewing services will be held Thurs, Sept. 4th 2026 from 6-8 pm @ Memorial Murray Mortuary 5850 S 900 E. Funeral services will be held Sat. Sept. 5th at 9 am @ St. Patricks Catholic Church 1058 W 400 S. Interment at Redwood Memorial Estates 6500 S Redwood Rd. Luncheon to follow at 1:30 1457 W Atherton Dr, Taylorsville