Francisco Rico Ortega Jr

Francisco Rico Ortega Jr., fondly known as Jun, passed away at the age of 80 years old on Friday, 01/04/2019, in his youngest son’s home in Stockton, CA after battling with metastatic lung cancer for nearly a year. He was born in Ilocos Norte, Philippines to Florentina and Francisco Ortega Sr. on 04/23/1938. After serving as a police officer in the San Juan Police Department in the 1960s and 70s, he immigrated to America in 1979 with his 3 children to join his wife, Lily, in California. After working in Silicon Valley and helping to raise his grandchildren, he retired to Las Vegas for the last 16 years of his life. He is survived by his sons, George and Francis, 6 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.

Jun was a good humored man who could make his family and close friends smile with a random joke which he seemed to always have up his sleeves. He enjoyed fishing and would take his grandchildren out on many cherished trips. He liked to try his luck eventually turning in pai gow for bingo and slot machines. He had a green thumb turning his backyard into a garden which he proudly tended to daily. He used those same hands to help build additions to his family home in Novaliches and the home their family lovingly called the “Jessica Way House.” He enjoyed family parties and was no stranger to the dance floor, swinging his beautiful wife around. His charm and wit will be missed. And although his family wanted more time with him, they are relieved he is no longer in any pain. While his body will be laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery, his spirit joins his beloved parents, wife, and daughter in heaven.