Cora Lynnette Martin was born in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 1957 to Chester Marie Lexion and Johnnie C. Martin. She was the 7th of ten children, five boys (John, Bruce, Larry, David, and Darryl) and five girls even (Vivian, Virginia, Patricia, Cora, and Ruth). During her childhood years, her father affectionately called her "Rabbit Eyes." She had a strong spiritual upbringing, attending church with her family regularly, which translated to a major staple and object of relentless faith and strength throughout her life. Cora loved music and dancing in her younger years. Her father, Johnnie was a military veteran, as was her oldest sibling, John, having served in the Marine Corps. Cora and her family relocated to the San Fernando Valley and she attended Maclay Middle School and John H. Francis Polytechnic High School while growing up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima.

Cora met a man who later became her husband, marrying him in February 1991. During her marriage, Cora earned credentials and worked as a pathologist performing autopsies at Olive View Medical Center located in Sylmar, Los Angeles, while also living there. Her mother, Chester and sister Virginia also held employment here. In June 1995, Cora, her husband and children relocated to the Antelope Valley and settled in Palmdale for two years before heading just north to Lancaster in 1997. She divorced her husband in 1999. Eventually, she befriended and dated Stacy Wheat, someone whom Cora's family adored, and remained in Lancaster for nearly thirty years until her death.

Cora passed away suddenly on July 12, 2024 in Lancaster at the home she shared with her son, Darnell, at 67 years old. Her remains were cremated and given to her children. A balloon release vigil was held in her honor on August 3rd, 2024 at the Halley-Olson Murphy Mortuary in Lancaster. Cora spent most of her life trying to be an example of living a life devoted to serving God. For a long time, she was the spiritual backbone of her family. She often stood as the one people sought after for wisdom. Most accounts would attest to how positive, loving, knowledgeable, supportive, forgiving, silly, hilarious, and strong she was. She was a kindhearted, gentle mother, auntie, sister and grandmother that her family severely misses every day. Her loss is a great shock and heartbreak to many.

Cora leaves behind four of her five children: twin sons Darnell and Dion, 41, of California; two daughters, Nicole, 45 of Texas, and Tasha, 43 of Nevada; three brothers, Larry, 69, David (unknown age), and Darryl, 60, twelve grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and friends. She is heavily preceded in death by her oldest child, son Chester, 44 at death, granddaughter Dionne, niece Gwenesha, all four of her sisters, brothers John and Bruce, boyfriend Stacy and parents Johnnie and Chester.