Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
One man’s hobby lost in time
Prepared to change more than 1,000 of his collected clocks, 88-year-old died just before daylight saving time
Each year for daylight saving time, Santalicio Martinez adjusted more than 1,000 clocks inside his Delray Beach home.
The clocks decorated his walls and shelf spaces in the living room, dining area, laundry room and even a storage shed.
“It will take me a week,” Martinez told the Sun Sentinel in 2013 of his annual ritual of resetting his clocks. “I love them.”
When daylight saving time comes this weekend, he won’t be fulfilling his beloved task. Martinez, 88, died March 2 while in hospice care in his home.
“He wanted to be around his clocks,” Wanda Martinez said of her father, who had a stroke, prostate cancer and lung issues in recent years. The retired roofer and former president of the Southridge Homeowners Association had spent 20 years collecting his time
pieces.
In his neighborhood, Martinez was known for those colorful timekeepers.
They were big and small, loud and silent. One was in the shape of a red motorcycle with the headlight revealing the time. Another was a wagging dog fixture that had a timepiece as its belly.
One was Karlsson clock with nine time zones in case he wanted to know what time it was in London and Toyko. The clocks had pictures of roosters, billiard balls and Mickey Mouse.
The native Puerto Rican found his treasures of time at flea markets, yard sales and catalogs. Some were gifts from friends and family.
At his funeral service, the family had four of his clocks set on a table. Each clock was set to 11:55 a.m.
“That’s when our timekeeper passed away,” his daughter Wanda said. “It was bittersweet and happy at the same time. It was really touching.”
She added that “time was always an element in his life. He always said there is time for everything. If we don’t do it today, we do it tomorrow. As long as we have life, we have time.”
The clockman, who had turned 88 in January, was married with four children, eight grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Wanda Martinez said the family has been cleaning and sharing the clocks with one another. In honor of their father, two of his sons plan to set the time on the clocks at the house Sunday.
When the Sun Sentinel asked him in 2013 if he’d ever sell his clocks, Santalicio Martinez quickly replied, “Never. I will keep collecting them until I die. They will stay here with the family to pass on.”
“He always said there is time for everything. If we don’t do it today, we do it tomorrow. As long as we have life, we have time.”
— Santalicio Martinez’s daughter Wanda