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Oritz -- Ida Ortiz, 71, died peacefully on January 22, 2000. The end came after a sorrowful ten year struggle with neurological disease. She will be lovingly remembered by her family and friends for her great independence, her proud heart, her courage and devotion to family, as well as for her generosity. She was the first born of Ramon Valencia and Stella Gomez of El Rancho, NM, having come into this life on November 6, 1928. She was a direct descendent of Desiderio Valencia, who was in the Valencia line which emerged in New Mexico during the 17th century after the Onate conquest. She first aspired to a religious life as a Dominican nun, having entered the covent in Santa Fe shortly after graduating as Valedictorian of her high school class. She willingly accepted a transfer to the St. Dominic covent in Racine Wisconsin and taught at the St. Joseph grade school there for approximately two years, but she soon turned to a different path and returned home. She successfully found her way in the world of accounting and business management, blending her intelligence with a no-nonsense approach to the work at hand. She worked part-time for Santa Fe Motor Company in 1948 then lived and worked briefly in San Diego, California, where she was married in 1952. She moved back to Santa Fe in late 1953 and returned to Santa Fe Motors, where she would prosper for the next 28 years. A tireless worker, she progressed from entry level clerk, to chief accountant, to overall manager and secretary-treasurer of the company. Her keen sense of justice and quiet compassion brought her the great respect of all her business associates. She was a pioneering woman in a business dominated by men, proving by her intelligence and unwavering determination that she belonged in an elite group of the highest performing General Motors managers nationwide. With all her business success, she was very humble and generous, a devoted mother and faithful wife. She was a frequent volunteer at St. Francis School, St. Michael's High, St. Francis Cathedral, as well as St. Elizabeth Shelter. She was a member of the Third Order Carmelites and worshiped weekly at the Carmelite Chapel in Santa Fe. Ida Ortiz was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Elfego and Candelaria Gomez; by her father; and her brothers, Ramon Valencia Jr. and Filadelfio (Philly Joe) Valencia; her sister, Clorinda Valencia; and her former husband, Thomas Zachary Ortiz. She is survived by her mother, Stella Gomez Valencia of El Rancho; her son, Raymond Z. Ortiz, his wife, Margaret Avila Storey, and their son, Zachary, all of Santa Fe; her daughter, Mary Catherine Ortiz, her husband, Gregory Waugh Nelson, and their children, Sofia and Rafael of Wayland, MI; brothers, Flavio Valencia and his wife, Pita of El Rancho, Harold Valencia and his wife, Betty of Santa Fe, Fernando Valencia and his wife, Araceli of Santa Fe; sisters, Yolanda Apodaca and her husband, Reuben of Albuquerque, and Dolores Valencia Tanno of Las Vegas, NV; cousins, Gloria Holladay of Santa Fe; and her sister, Barbara Blue Spruce of Staten Island, NY; and numerous other cousins, nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at Berardinelli Mortuary on Monday, January 24, beginning at 7:00 p.m., followed by a Rosary at 8:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2:00 p.m., at the Carmelite Monastery Chapel, 49 Mount Carmel Road, in Santa Fe, to be followed by interment of her ashes at Rosario Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, her last wishes were that any memorial contributions be sent to the Carmelite nuns in Santa Fe.
        Published on: Tue January 25, 2000