1940-2013



Our beloved mother, wife, grandmother, sister and friend returned to her Father in Heaven on January 21, 2013 in the presence of her devoted husband in their Bountiful home after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Dorothy Lee Ortega, was born June 27, 1940 in San Diego, California. As one of six children, she spent her childhood in the small rural town of Campo, California. After graduating from Mountain Empire High School, she worked in retail for a short time, and then on an egg production farm in her hometown. She met the love of her life there, and married Patrick Arthur Murphy on November 5, 1961 in Winterhaven, California. They enjoyed 51 years of marriage together where the two traveled all over the western United States, and particularly enjoyed traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada. The two purchased a small parcel of property in Cedar City, where Dottie, as she liked to be called, enjoyed working side-by-side with her husband in building a home away from home. Dottie took pride in her rose garden, and making delicious, authentic Hispanic foods.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Evelyn Ortega, older brother James, and younger sister, Barbara. She is survived by her beloved husband, Patrick, and their three boys, Patrick (Lisa), Rick (Jackie), and Darryl along with five grand-daughters, Kimberly, Ciera, Addison, Katelyn, and Ashley. She is also survived by her brother Jerry Ortega, and sister Susie (Jim) Meskan.

A viewing will be held Saturday, January 26, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at St. Olaf Catholic Church, 276 E. 1700 South, Bountiful. Funeral services will be held following the viewing at St. Olaf’s. Interment will be at Lakeview Memorial, 1640 Lakeview Drive, Bountiful. Special thanks to Dorothy’s nurse, Brook Lawrence for all the compassionate and tender care she gave to Dorothy in her last days of life, and also the University of Utah Cardiothoracic department, specifically Dr. David Bull, and oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Prystas. Online condolences can be left at: http://www.serenicare.com/salt-lake-city/obituaries/. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.