Elvira Ortega

Elvira Ortega May 1, 1931 - May 1, 2017 Our beloved Mother was born on May 1 1931, to Francisco and Julia Quintanilla. She was the eldest of 7 children, the sister of Amelia, Eloisa, Angela, Aurora, Consuelo (D) and Humberto. On her 86th birthday, our mother opened her eyes again to the biggest celebration in heaven with the greatest host of all, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Our faith tells us that there to greet her was the love of her life, our dad, Alfredo Ortega and her beloved son, Juan Francisco and many more that have departed before her. It brings us great peace and joy that she is once again reunited with them. Elvira will be remembered for many reasons. Amongst them will be her talent as an artist. She created some of the most beautiful artisan pieces. Her cake decorating, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, and other intricate pieces were something to be admired. Her delicious meals will be especially remembered. She took great care to prepare them for all to enjoy, especially traditional meals. She made sure that every guest in her home felt welcomed with a cup of coffee. She was also an avid gardener. Her garden was simply amazing. For many years until the end, she brazenly did all the work on her own, and took great pride doing it. It was not unusual to visit her and catch her mowing her lawn. Beautiful flowers and fruit trees of many were the results of her hard work. She loved to take on a challenge of trying to grow exotic fruits and trees and she never backed down. Many have told us how strong and how tough our Mom was. There was no greater witness than we, her children. She had the fighting spirit of a true warrior. She instilled in us to be tough and forge through tough times with her actions. She never showed fear and that was most apparent when she defeated non-hodgkins lymphoma 3 times. Through her treatments, she remained steadfast to live a life as normal as possible, never letting cancer take center stage. As for her children, we will remember her most for all her love and sacrifices that she gave us - and there were many. Growing up, it was not unusual to wake up late at night to the sound of her sewing machine. Even after a long days work, she still managed to make her daughters dresses for Easter or picture days. She was a mightily humble and modest woman, but forever proud of her family, her daughter in-laws and her son in-laws. Left to grieve her absence, are her children Alfredo and Lilly Ortega, David and Yolanda Ortega, Eloisa and Mike Chavarria, Carmen Ortega, Estela and Dr. Tony Sandhu, Fernando and Rosa Ortega, and Maria Ortega. She was the grandmother and a mother to Carlos. A grandmother to Sophia, Sonny, Freddy, Olivia, Isabella, Joaquin, Mikey, Victoria, Diego, and Paulina. We will miss you Mom until our last dying breath, until we are reunited again. A special thank you to all her Doctors... Dr. Shahinian, Dr. Castro, Dr. Obregon, and their staff. Visitation will be held from 5:00pm to 9:00pm with a Vigil/Rosary at 7:00pm on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Funeral Mass will be said at 11:30am on Monday, May 8, 2017 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. Committal Service will follow at 1:00pm at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Please Visit our online register book at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.