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Planting positivity: Adams Ave. neighborhood honoring postal worker with floral tree

"The tree will bring peace and happiness to a site that needs it."

ODESSA, Texas — A temporary memorial for postal worker Mary Granados has been set up where she was shot on Adams Avenue in Odessa.

Soon something more permanent will take its place in the neighborhood.

Neighbor, Elena Martinez, says she plans on planting a tree in her front yard to remember the postal worker whose life was taken way too soon. 

"She was a beautiful, beautiful young lady," Martinez said. "She always said good morning." 

On Saturday, Martinez woke up with a bad feeling. She said it was so bad, she had to tell her friend about it on the phone.  

“I had a bad feeling, I don’t know, some kind of fear,” Martinez said. 

Martinez ignored her gut and decided to run errands. She was in the produce aisle at HEB when her daughter called in a panic. 

"She told me there’s a shooter happening at Home Depot" Martinez said. "She asked me, mom where are we going to go? And I said go home.” 

Little did they know the gunman had made his way into their neighborhood and killed Granados in front of their home.

"I looked through the window and I saw her laying there,” Martinez said.

Martinez said hundreds of people have stopped by the memorial in front of their house to drop off flowers and pay their respects to Granados. 

"I come out and water the flowers so that they last longer and my son lights the candles at night," Martinez said.

Soon Martinez will plant a magenta crape myrtle to permanently honor Granados. 

“It'll bring peace and happiness to a site that needs it,” Martinez said.

And that is something everyone on Adams Ave. needs.

Neighbors say they plan on coming to Mary Granados' funeral service at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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