Bertha Eleanor Ortega (“Inky”)

August 1, 1933 – October 24, 2021

Bertha “Inky” Ortega passed away on October 24, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona. She was 88 years old.

Inky was born on August 1, 1933 at the Fort Yuma Indian Hospital on Indian Hill to Edward and Andrea Leon.

Inky's husband Ray Ortega passed away in 2012.

She is survived by sisters Mary Fiser and Louise Danforth, her four children Arthur, Karen, Ralph and Jonathan, 5 Grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.

Inky was a 23 year school bus driver for Yuma Schools Transportation, former Quechan Tribe Head Start Program assistant and taught sewing within the Quechan Language Preservation Curriculum.

Inky attended Indian Boarding schools in Arizona, California and New Mexico before attending Yuma High School where she met her future husband Ray Ortega. After Ray joined the US Army, Ray and Inky were married in Fort Knox, Kentucky and stationed in Hawaii and Washington State before resettling in Yuma.

Raised on horseback, Inky was life long horseback rider, horse trainer and was the 1956 Silver Spur Rodeo Queen. Inky was an member of St. Thomas Indian Mission and Immaculate Conception.

Inky's Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 10:00am in St. Thomas Indian Mission,

350 Picacho Rd. Winterhaven, California on Indian Hill, Quechan Indian Reservation. In accordance with California Law, all attendees must wear a face mask within Church facilities.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Quechan Language Preservation Program, Attn Dr Charlotte Hills, 450 Quechan Drive, Winterhaven, California 92283.