Eugene Ortega

Gene Ortega, 81, passed away peacefully on October 26, 2012, surrounded by his family. He was born in the village of Saticoy on July 16, 1931 to his Native American-Chumash parents, Valentine Lupe Ortega and Josephine Orrante. He was very proud to be a Native American. Gene is survived by his loving wife, Mary; whom he married May 23, 1953 in Ventura, CA. During his childhood he attended local schools and spent summers in Sonora, CA. He even spent time crossing the country by jumping trains in order to get where he wanted to go. Later, he would enter the Air Force, where he became an airplane mechanic. After honorably serving his country, he settled down and became a Lather for local union 150, where his skills shined, and focused his efforts on starting a family. Gene was a great mechanic and he accepted all challenges in his trade. The one thing he loved the most was fishing. He would enjoy this pastime whenever he found the time, which was often. In his earlier years he coached his boys through little league baseball at Statham Fields. Toward the end of his career, he put down his tools to become a Business Agent for the Lather's Union. Then, upon his retirement at the young age of 55, he sold his home in El Rio, packed up his motor home, and headed south to Baja California. In truth, they had no particular destination, but as soon as they found the quiet town of La Paz, they called their children and said, “We found our dream home!” He and his wife Mary spent 23 relaxing years in La Paz, where Gene was able to fish almost daily for as long as he desired, and he was loving life. When visiting back home, he would often give his friends a hard time when they would tell him about catching some big fish; to which he would reply by saying, “I use that for bait down there!” He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Myra Thornton, and he is survived by his two brothers, Pete Terrazas of Livermore, CA and Walter Diaz of Medford, OR; Children: Gene (Eyvonne), Dennis (Cindy), Frank (Mary), Norma (Larry), Vincent (Tina), 13 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. A service will be held at Sacred Heart Church (10800 Henderson Rd. Ventura, CA) on Friday November 2nd at 1:30 p.m. Furthermore, in honor of Gene’s Native American Heritage, a special celebration of his life will be performed by his nephew Mati Waiya and his wife Luhui the following day, November 3rd, at the Wishtoyo Chumash Village Nicholas Canyon County Beach Park (33904 Pacific Coast Highway) at 12:00 p.m.