Amelida F Ortiz

ORTIZ - Amelida F. (nee Figueroa) Of Buffalo, entered into rest on December 8, 2017, beloved wife of the late Herminio Ortiz, Sr.; devoted mother of Nidia Diaz, Nancy Ortiz and the late Carmen M. Perez and Herminio Ortiz, Jr.; cherished grandmother of ten grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild; loving daughter of the late Bartolo and Isolina Figueroa; dear sister of 13 siblings; also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends may visit the LOMBARDO FUNERAL HOME (Northtowns Chapel), 885 Niagara Falls Blvd. near Eggert/Sheridan Dr., on Wednesday from 3-8 PM and may visit Holy Cross Church, 345 7th St., Buffalo, on Thursday morning from 9-10 o'clock where a Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow. Interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Amelida Ortiz, prominent in Buffalos Hispanic community, died Dec. 8 in the hospice unit at Buffalo General Medical Center. She was 87. Born in Limani, Adjuntas, in the mountains of Puerto Rico, the former Amelida Figueroa was the youngest of 14 children. After completing third grade, she went to work as a housekeeper and cook for the local superintendent of schools and his wife, who was a teacher, and they gave her lessons between her tasks. She married Herminio Ortiz in 1948 and they came to Buffalo in the early 1950s, working on farms and in factories before opening a corner store on the East Side. After her husband died in 1965, she encouraged her four children to go to college, welcoming them to bring friends home for traditional meals in her duck-themed kitchen. They all went on to become professionals. Her grandchildren did, as well. Mrs. Ortiz was a member of the Ellicott District Democratic Committee for more than 15 years, raising funds, circulating petitions, helping to get voters to the polls and hosting dinners for political groups in her home. She is recognized on a garita, a guardian obelisk at Niagara and Jersey streets, for her leadership. She appears on another garita near Holy Cross Catholic Church for her leadership there and in the former Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. She was a member of Hijas de Maria and led confirmation classes, adult Bible study, the Womens Good Deed Network and novenas. She sang in the choir and at one time served as choir director. She also was one of a group of as many as 10 church women who donned pink satin Bison jackets and visited the sick and housebound on the West Side to pray the rosary and offer novenas. Survivors include two daughters, Nidia Diaz and Nancy; 10 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. A Mass of Christian Burial was offered Dec. 14 in Holy Cro