After a few years in a marble mine, conscription in the Spanish army, and a stint in the lumber industry, Jose Martin took up a friend's offer to work in the United States.  He crossed the Atlantic in October 1964 to begin life as a sheepherder.  In the years that followed, Jose Martin adjusted easily to the life and language of his new country, and switched careers to include construction, trucking, farming and real estate development.

Jose Martin met his wife Carolyn in 1979 in Gooding, and the couple was married a few years later.  They have raised a daughter, and the whole family enjoys the many Basque traditions still practiced in town.  Although Jose Martin enjoys visiting Euskadi when time allows, he considers Idaho his home now, but this doesn't prevent him from  working actively to promote the Basque culture for future generations.