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The Ortiz children remember many special things about their mother, Rosa. She gardened and owned a restaurant (Casita Café) behind Seton High School. In her single days, she was a ‘handyman’ for her family and worked as a carpenter, roofer, and painter for the rentals her mom kept. The day Frank proposed, she was repairing a roof. She also enjoyed painting and used irrigation tarps as her canvases. Taught by a local medicine man, she made her paints from the land using roots and beets. In her role as wife and mother, she raised farm animals, grew vegetables and fruits. She was industrious and practical, sewing clothes for all of her family and making reversible outfits (vests, dresses, skirts) for the girls. “She did it all” according to the family, and this included delivering a neighbor’s baby one time when called upon.
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