Ann C. Ortega

Cy's Lil' Ann joined her beloved parents Cy and Marge Turgeon, sister-in-law Stella Turgeon, cousin Jimmy Bader and cousin Billy Craddock in heaven on March 31, 2015.

Ann Turgeon was born on June 16, 1930 in Kansas City, MO. She leaves a large family including her children and their families: Dan Ortega (spouse Lolla Ryabova, son Sergei); Bob Ortega (spouse Dalyn Cavanaugh, son Giovanni); Julie Ortega; Jennifer Ortega (spouse Nanci Pearson, sons Josh and Ben); Nancy Ortega (spouse Joel Wells, daughter Natalie) and Susan Trozzolo (spouse Peter, daughter Maria, son Marcus). Ann also leaves her loving big brother Bob Turgeon, little sister Sue van Thullenar (spouse Phil van Thullenar), cousin Mary Beth Craddock and many nieces and nephews.

Her many lifelong friends include Joann Corless with whom she went to Bishop Hogan High School and Mount St. Scholastica College and traveled the world. Ann was a storyteller, which fit well with her life as a teacher, mother and grandmother. Her hundreds of letters home during her college years and while living abroad related her many adventures with wit and love. She fondly remembered her first teaching job out of college at St. Martha's school in Sarasota, FL. Many of her students were from circus families. They befriended Ann and the other teachers, even teaching them the art of trapeze. On her return to Kansas City, Ann and her friend Joann donated their last year's paychecks to St. Martha's for children who could not otherwise afford a Catholic education. As was typical of Ann, her children only discovered this after finding a thank-you note from the priest at St. Martha's.

In Kansas City, she met and married Dr. Rodolfo Ortega Borbon. They lived in Chicago, Syracuse and Mexico City. She loved adventure and continued to travel the world even after returning to Kansas City in 1968 with six children in tow, whom she raised on her own from that point forward. Her weekly lunches with Cy, Marge and Bob at Putsches and Andres and dinners at Sue's were a great source of support. Ann never yelled at her children, even though they agree they gave her cause. She was patient, forgiving, and tolerant. Ann read to each of her six children every night, instilling a lifelong love of reading. She always felt that no household chore was ever as important as time spent reading a good book. There were always stacks of books to read and discuss. No book could be given as a gift without first being read (careful not to crack the spine to maintain the illusion of it being unopened). As her father had done for her, she introduced all her children to the art of words through dictionary reading. Whether her children were at camp, away at school, or living in another state or country, newsy letters were expected to be sent and received. Her children are grateful to her for this lifelong gift of memories. Her habit of sending quirky newsclippings in her letters passed to her children who have started and will continue to populate correspondence to the next generation with articles of the weird and interesting.

After returning to KC, she took a job as a second-grade teacher at St. Elizabeth grade school, her own alma mater. She taught hundreds of children, including some of her own, and made many lifelong friends. The St. Elizabeth teachers met monthly throughout her life for lunch. After twenty years at St. Elizabeth she left to work at the American Academy of Family Physicians for a wonderful boss until retiring the year her first grandchild was born. She devoted the following years to sharing her love of books, comics, word games, and old movies with her seven grandchildren. Grandma taught them all to appreciate life's small pleasures by always eating dessert first.

Join us for a celebration of her life at St. Elizabeth Church, 2 E. 75th St. on Friday, April 10. Visitation 9-10:30 a.m. Mass at 10:30 a.m.