Martin Gorchs

Martin Frederick Gorchs was born on December 23rd, 1960 in Louisville, Kentucky. Several years later, his growing family moved to Houston, Texas.  Martin was a first generation American, born of Argentine immigrants. By the time  Martin was attending St. Thomas High School, his life-long passion for cars and for repairing them was becoming very apparent, and he was getting pretty good at it. In the early 1980's, Martin moved to the Austin area, always working in some capacity in the automotive repair industry. Before long he had his own auto repair shop in Buda, Texas, "Martin's Vehicle Inspections" on Manchaca Road, later relocated and renamed further up the street a s "Manchaca Garage".

Over the course of Martin's lifetime, he has been blessed with many deep friendships and he has touched many hearts. His friends really were his closest family, and he treated his customers and friends alike with honesty, fairness and consideration. He always tried to do what was right.  He loved to go boating and hunting with friends or just to hang out for hours and just talk and laugh about shared memories with his friends.  He usually smoked the turkeys for the family Thanksgiving dinners.  He loved his dogs and he is survived by Lucy, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that he toted with him almost everywhere he went, until his later days.  He was as loyal and considerate to his beloved pets as he was to everyone else he called a friend.

Martin was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in mid 2018.  He continued to work and to run  Manchaca Garage with the assistance of his trusted friend and employee Sawyer Campbell Ballister, even while he started taking chemotherapy and other treatments in Austin.  By late 2019 he took residence in Houston so that he could fight the disease at MD Anderson Leukemia Treatment Center.  He participated in several clinical trials and aggressive treatment regimens over the next several months, but finally in early 2020 he was informed by the physicians that the disease was not considered curable with current treatment approaches.  He drove back to Austin on February 10th, 2020 to be with loved ones.   On February 26th, 2020, the First day of Lent, Martin passed away surrounded by family at the Hospice Austin Christopher House.

Martin is survived by his mother Marta Lia Chamorro de Greca Gorchs, also his brothers Fernando, Thomas, Andrew, and his sister Patricia, also his nephews Austin and Roman           and his nieces Elaina, Lia and Allison.  He is also survived by numerous cousins and other relatives both in the USA and in Argentina.

Martin was preceded in death by his brother Charles Albert and his sister Martha Jean, also his father Fernando Agustin Gorchs (d.1993).

A donation to the Hospice Austin Christopher House (hospiceaustin.org) or to MD Anderson Leukemia Department in Houston (gifts.mdanderson.org) would be graciously appreciated in lieu of flowers.

Martin will be remembered in a memorial Mass on Monday March 16, 2020 at 1 p.m. at St. Theresa Catholic Church at 4311 Small Drive in Northwest Austin.  All are welcome to join in on a reception with friends and family afterwards. Bring your stories and memories, help us celebrate Martin's life together!