Efren Ortega

The Lord planned a grand reunion when He called Efren Ortega III to join his big little brother, Cris Ortega, and his loving father, Efren Ortega Jr., in Heaven on February 25, 2021. Efren Ortega III was born on October 25, 1990, in El Paso, Texas, to his mother Sandra Ortega and his father Efren Ortega, Jr. An avid athlete and class clown, Efren was active in hockey, football, and played varsity basketball at Franklin High School. Efren honorably served his country as a Geospatial Intelligence Analyst in the Air Force and worked on exclusive assignments that required a top-secret security clearance. Although the injuries Efren sustained while playing sports could have prevented him from being accepted into the military, the Air Force was particularly intrigued by Efren’s brilliant mind. Initially stationed at Beale Air Force Base in Yuba County, California, Efren achieved several honors and was thereafter relocated to his hometown of El Paso, Texas, at Fort Bliss. In January of 2017, Efren achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. In conjunction with fulfilling his duty of service, Efren vigorously pursued higher education. His academic achievements include an Associate of Applied Science in Intelligence Studies and Technology from the Community College of the Air Force, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Thomas Edison State University, and a Master of Business Administration from the American Military University. On July 23, 2016, the Universe gifted Efren with the birth of his daughter, Leah Alessandra Ortega. Leah consumed Efren’s heart and he never knew a greater love. There was nothing Efren prized more than being Leah’s father, it was his greatest accomplishment. Those left with the everlasting bliss of his memory include his daughter, Leah Alessandra Ortega; his mother Sandra Ortega; and his grandparents, Jorge and Dolores Rodriguez. Efren will also be dearly missed by his aunts and uncles, Hilda and Jesse Espinoza, Letty and Javier Ochoa, Jorge and Michelle Rodriguez, Norma and Russ Myers, and Myrna and Sergio Cortez; and his beloved cousins, Victoria, Daniella, Jessika, Benjamin, Nicholas, Madeline, Ivan, Alex, Mia, Addeline, Caleb, Lindsey, Nick, Amanda, Christian, his goddaughter Annedria, and his life-long friend, Daniel Avila II, among many more. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Thursday, March 4, 2021 at Sunset Funeral Homes – Americas, 9521 N. Loop. Funeral Mass will follow at 12:45 PM at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church, 12200 Vista Del Sol. Interment will follow at Mount Carmel Cemetery, 401 S. Zaragoza.