Ester C. Ortega

Ester C. Ortega was known for her penchant to helping others. She did so as a nurse. She did so in her charitable work on behalf of those in her native Philippines.

Her good work with others has come to end. Ester died July 24, 2024 at the Hospice of Dayton. She was 83.

Ester retired as a nurse from the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dayton where she worked in a couple of different departments, most recently in gerontology. Ester also had served as a nurse in private medical practice in Dayton and had worked in hospitals in California and elsewhere.

Ester was a graduate of the University of the Philippines and also served in a post-graduate experience at Boston’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear affiliated with Harvard University. Ester also, among other places, served as a nurse at Chicago’s Cook County General Hospital, now known as Cook County Health.

In the latter part of her career and in her retirement, Ester took great pride in her charitable work on behalf of those in her native Philippines.

Ester founded the St. Gabriel of Calbasag Foundation in her ancestral homeland of Calbasag, Leyte, Philippines. The charitable organization undertook numerous medical missions and educational programs, bringing much needed philanthropic assistance to the small village in the Visayas region of the Philippines.

In addition, Ester was devoted to her family and friends and was quick with a smile and kind word for all, according to those who knew her.

Born in Manila on Jan. 17, 1941, Ester graduated high school in the Philippines before emigrating to Canada and ultimately to the United States.

Ester was preceded in death by her father, Agapito dela Cruz and her mother, Catalina dela Cruz, and her brother, Juanito dela Cruz. She is also preceded in death by her longtime friend and family member Virginia E. Stull, M.D of Centerville, Ohio.

She is survived by a sister, Corazon Penafuerte of Canada; brother, Nestor dela Cruz of Canada; sister, Lorna dela Cruz of San Francisco, California. She is also survived by sons, Jeffrey (Stephanie Meyer) Ortega of Columbus, Ohio; Roderick Ortega (Nancy) of Springboro, Ohio; grandchildren Grace Ortega and Benjamin Ortega of Columbus and Isabella Ortega and Vincent Ortega of Springboro, Ohio.

Ester is also survived by her special friend, Alicia Moore of Centerville, Ohio.

A gathering of family and friends for Ester will be held Wednesday, August 7, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Tobias Funeral Home - Far Hills Chapel, 5471 Far Hills Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45429. A Mass of Christian Burial will occur Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM at Church of the Incarnation, 7415 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459. Burial to follow at David’s Cemetery, 4600 Mad River Rd., Kettering, Ohio. 45429. Condolences may be sent to www.tobiasfuneralhome.com