Derek Ortega: Technician was proud of his heritage

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA | DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Derek Ortega embraced both his Mexican and American heritage.

The 48-year-old was known around his home in Royal Oak for the Mexican and American flags he proudly displayed in the back window of his Ford F-150 pickup.

Well, that and Mexican dancing, said his cousin Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust in Ann Arbor.

"Derek was a salsa-dancing life of every family gathering and dinner," she said. "At every wedding, there was Derek, making sure everyone was having fun and dancing, and feeling included. He also was generous and kind -- he reached out to everyone he met.

"He was in death as he was in life: He was an organ donor, and he will give life to many people this week through his organ donations."

Mr. Ortega, an installation technician for Immersion Graphics, died early Sunday after suffering a massive stroke.

To share his appreciation for Mexico, in 2006, Mr. Ortega led a trip of more than 20 relatives to their homeland in Guanajuato and Michoacán, Mexico.

He often traveled there with family and friends.

Another love was baseball. One of the last things he did was watch the Tigers play the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night, family members said. Starting with T-ball as a youngster, he played in recreational leagues until a couple of years ago, said his mother, Amparo Ortega, 72, of Royal Oak.

As for her son's organ donation, Amparo Ortega said: "I feel good about it. That's the kind of person he was, always eager to help wherever he could."

Mr. Ortega, a 1981 graduate of Dondero High School in Royal Oak, assisted his mother and father, Frank Ortega, living with them in the home where he grew up.

Besides his parents, Mr. Ortega is survived by a sister, Deena Vervynckt, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.