Laureano "Marino" Gutierrez

Our beloved “Papi” passed away peacefully on Monday, February 2, 2026, surrounded by the family that adored him. For the past 8 years, little by little, he demonstrated extraordinary strength as he habituated to living in community at Belmont Village without the love of his life and wife, Jacqueline. Just as hard was the loss in 2024, of his soulmate and grandson, Adam. He will be laid to rest beside them and rejoin them once again, this time in heaven. Laureano “Marino” Gutierrez Sanchez was born to Alfredo and Manuela Gutierrez on July 4, 1930, in Oaxaca, Mexico. Despite his humble roots as the son of a shoemaker, he was chosen to attend a state-sponsored boarding school in Mexico City. From there, he was granted a scholarship to attend Columbia University in New York. This first visit to America was transformational in every sense. He eloped with his host family’s niece, a former debutante, which quickly got him an annulment and ended his studies in New York. Now fluent in English, he returned to his native Oaxaca and became one of Mexico’s first federally certified tourist guides. This led him to meet and marry a tourist, and together the couple moved back to New York, where their marriage eventually ended in divorce. Back in New York, he joined Aeromexico as a sales executive, and while serving in that role, met the mate that would complete him and become his third wife, his beloved Jackie, aka “Gaga.” In 1965, together they formed a travel firm to promote tourism to Mexico. If Jackie was the administrator, Marino was the consummate salesman. Together, they provided counsel to multiple Mexican Presidents and Cabinet members, Governors, and hoteliers. Their company, Mexican Representatives, moved from New York to Houston in 1972, and Houston became their cherished hometown. Working together, Jackie and Marino put every great resort in Mexico, starting with Cancun, in the minds of American vacationers. For all their love of travel, early retirement with the sale of their business brought Marino and Jackie into the most anticipated and adored chapter of their lives as grandparents. A brilliant watercolorist and creator of caricatures, Papi was the Pied Piper of his grandkids and all their friends. They traveled the world with them and truly had a larger-than-life presence in their day-to-day lives. Marino Gutierrez is preceded in death by his parents, Alfredo and Manuela Gutierrez, daughter, Vivian Gutierrez, brothers, Lucio, Prisciliano, and Alfredo Gutierrez, his son-in-law, Marty Steiner, his wife, Jacqueline Gutierrez, and his grandson, Adam Will. He is survived by his daughters, Marilee Steiner, his grandchildren, Julie Gershon (and husband Abner), Suzanne Sievert (and husband Mike), Michelle Holm, and Elian Paiuk (and wife Galit), and their collective children Jake, Gabrielle, and Jonah Gershon, Nate (and wife Hanna) and Jonny Sievert, Cade Holm and Priel and Yarin Paiuk; Patricia Will and son-in-law, Edward Will, his son, William Gutierrez (and wife Nora Valencia), as well as his grandson, Aron Will (and wife Alexandra) and three beloved great-grandchildren, Ella, Charlotte, and Jack Will. Our family expresses deep gratitude to the many team members at Belmont Village who, after Gaga died, helped him engage with life again, especially as a painting instructor who loved him like a parent and who cared for him tenderly until the end. Marino Gutierrez will be celebrated and laid to rest at 11:00 am at Beth Israel Memorial Garden on Friday, February 6, 2026, 1101 Antoine Drive, Houston, Texas 77055. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring him with a donation to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation (https://iladef.org/donation). He would want this in the hope that the organization’s research will help his grandson and his family, as well as countless others, as they cope with the consequences of Lyme.

Laureano "Marino" Gutierrez

July 4, 1930 - February 2, 2026