Joseph Otilio Ortega Jr.

Fish On

Joseph O. Ortega Jr.
Sept. 27, 1961 – Oct. 23, 2012

In the photo, he is dressed for cold weather with his fishing gear in hand and his best fishing buddy at his side. They are at their secret fishing hole, hiking in despite an oncoming blizzard. Snow is already covering the ground, and it's coming down so heavily, thick snowflakes blur the camera lens.

It was a day out fishing and most would've turned around because of the snowstorm. But Joe Ortega Jr. would go to any lengths if the fish were rising.

His strong will and loyalty weren't limited to fishing, however. Joe was an older brother in the truest sense; he was a protector and looked out for everyone else above himself.

Joseph O. Ortega Jr. — the oldest child of four, father, husband, uncle, nephew and friend of many — lost his hard-fought battle to cancer on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012.

"He affected so many people. He didn't even know how many people's lives he touched," says Amiee Stevenson Ortega, his longtime girlfriend, whom he had just married on June 27, 2012. Despite being in the middle of cancer treatment, Joe made the drive to Las Vegas for the couple's private ceremony. It was the least he could give her, he had said of the trip.

Joe was born on Sept. 27, 1961, in Denver to Joseph and Nora Ortega. Northwest Denver was his lifelong anchor, and alongside many loved ones he lived out fun and rowdy times, creating memories of hiding out in the sumac trees with his brother, Ed; poking around for horned toads in the backyard; tubing in the South Platte River; and "interacting" with the hobos along the railroad tracks.

Growing up, Joe commanded the scene as "the cool guy," according to Ed. Everyone looked up to him. "He was the real alpha male. The dude was a real bad ass. He belongs to the world of macho heritage," says Ed, remembering times when he'd have to open a second-floor window of the house to help Joe sneak in after a late night.

Joe attended Denver North High School, where he wrestled and played football, and graduated in 1979. He married his high school sweetheart, Debra Resler, on Dec. 26, 1981, in Denver, and they had two children, Stephen and Stephanie.

The heartbreak of a lifetime occurred for Joe when his son, Stephen, passed away on Nov. 19, 2011, of congenital heart complications. But the other light of his life was Stephanie, whom he remained close with, especially in his final days.

"He was an amazing father. He supported me through everything," says Stephanie. "When I told him I want to go to Hawaii, he said 'You do it.' He always held my hand. He was a good protector, a guardian, a provider."

Joe was known for always being in a good mood and having a great sense of humor. He strived to make everyone around him laugh, even in the most awkward moments. Stephanie remembers one night when Joe got home late after crashing his Jeep in a snowstorm. While explaining the accident to the shaken family, he calmed his daughter with a quick little drawing of his jeep and the words "Joe Joe Insane-O crashed the Jeep!"

Growing up, his sisters recall how he would try to make them laugh at the dinner table by stuffing his mouth with mashed potatoes and squirting them back out. "Mom would be telling him to stop. We would be laughing so hard, we were peeing our pants," recalls Kathy. "He was cool. I looked up to him."

His cousin, Demetrius, also admired him when they were younger and admitted that Joe sometimes raised a little hell, whether it was jumping over his cousins on his cool red Stingray bike, rallying in his shiny orange Nova on the dirt roads of the Denver foothills, or heading to the mountains at 10:30 p.m. for a late-night camping venture. As they aged, Joe and Demetrius grew even closer through their mutual love for fishing. They created countless special memories together as they tested the waters with other friends at spots in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the central Rockies, and Wyoming.

"He was a brother to me. When I needed to be carried, he carried me. When he needed carrying, I carried him," Demetrius says.

Of course, in search of good fishing, Joe would still get them into a little trouble now and again — ending up on rocky ledges above mountain lakes, pushing heavy mountain bikes up steep trails, or facing freak winter storms with his trademark bravado and instilling trust in everyone around him.

If he was ever scared, he never showed it, which comforted his friends and family. He was a mentor to many, including his work friends and colleagues from King Soopers, where he worked for 12 years and most recently served as a produce inspector. (He could always be relied upon by his youngest sister to help pick out perfectly ripe fruit!)

Skilled in creating his own fishing flies, Joe was known to be rocking out to Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen and other classic rock while meticulously tying flies. His other craft was refurbishing old vehicles. He was a master mechanic (having attended the Diesel and Automotive College in Denver) and was proud of the numerous vintage cars he brought back to life. If he wasn't restoring an older car, he was adding some Joe Joe Insane-O flair and four-wheelin' capabilities to newer rigs. This included his beloved red 1983 Jeep CJ-5, which he affectionately called "The Ratt."

He was resourceful and could turn nothing into something. Like his dad, he was always on the lookout for dollar bills caught up against a chain link fence. He could turn an old makeup bag into a fly-tying box or craft a hair decoration into a fishing fly. He once collected treble hooks off the bottom of a river and resold them on the spot to anglers on the shore and knew how to catch koi-type fish in Rocky Mountain Lake using cigarette butts as bait. Perhaps a little less glamorous was his creation of the "Badger Creek Butt Block" (a dance move that mimicked the action of knocking your buddy away from a prized fishing hole).

Among his other loves was playing softball, creating formulas to help pick out Lotto numbers, and watching the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, NY Yankees, and fishing programs.

Joe loved Native American culture and bragged that the Ortegas had Navajo blood. He often made up words, hoping to come up with the right Native American name for himself. We may not know the Navajo words for "honest," "integrity," "dependable" and "protector," but he was all of those things and more to us.

Joe is survived by his wife, Amiee Stevenson Ortega; his daughter, Stephanie Ortega; one brother, Edward Ortega; two sisters, Kathryn Classen and Trina Ortega; his first wife, Debra Zinke; his mother- and father in-law, Barbara and Dick Stevenson; and his two dogs, Kai and CJ. He was preceded in death by his son, Stephen J. Ortega, and his parents, Joe and Nora Ortega.

A celebration of his life will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Anderson Park, 4355 Field St. in Wheat Ridge. This is an outdoor gathering and will take place rain or shine, so please dress appropriately. Wear your favorite baseball gear in memory of Joe.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the family to help offset medical expenses incurred over the past three years. (Make checks payable to Amiee Stevenson Ortega.)