Angelina Jolie’s aunt dies after battling cancer at Escondido hospital

ESCONDIDO – Angelina Jolie's aunt has died of cancer at an Escondido hospital, less than two weeks after the actress revealed her family's cancer gene had prompted her to have a double mastectomy.  

Debbie Martin died at Palomar Medical Center, according to interviews with her surviving husband, Ron Martin.  

Debbie Martin, 61, had carried the same defective BRCA2 gene as her big sister, Marcheline Bertrand, who is Jolie's mother. Bertrand died of cancer in 2007, and her ovarian cancer was blamed on BRCA2 and a second cancer-related gene, BRCA1.   

Ron Martin applauded the news that Jolie has undergone the operation, which the 37-year-old actress revealed in an opinion piece she wrote for the New York Times earlier this month.
   
The couple had been married 42 years and lived in Escondido for 18 years. They own Sewing machines plus, an online retail store in San Marcos, the web site reported.  

She was survived by their grown sons, Chris Martin and Cory Martin.

No services have been announced.