Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Ortiz, Alice M. (Cole) January 10, 2021
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Nan Wheaton wheaton1624@yahoo.com February 14, 2022, 2:09 pm

Greenville  Daily News - Jan. 2021

Alice M. Ortiz, 74, of Belding, formerly of Greenville, passed away Monday, 
January 11, 2021 at SKLD-Ionia under the loving care of her children and 
Heartland Hospice. The daughter of Albert & Laura (Austin) Cole, she was born on 
March 21, 1946 in Belding.

On March 23,1968, in Belding, she married Johnny C. Ortiz and together they 
raised five children, which she was very proud of. Alice was a beautiful person 
inside and out. She handled life’s ups and downs to the fullest extent. She was 
a very strong person who fought until her children came and told her it’s okay 
to give up the fight.

Alice grew up in Belding and moved to Greenville soon after getting married, 
where she and Johnny made their home until moving back to Belding in 1991. 
Unfortunately, in 2017, Alice went to live at Heartland Nursing Facility in 
Ionia due to her progressing dementia. Alice was fortunate to be able to stay 
home and raise her five children. As her children got older Alice sought 
something that she loved and managed several Adult Foster Care Homes. When she 
wasn’t working you’d find her playing BINGO or enjoying some time at the Soaring 
Eagle Casino. She was a social butterfly and made several friends wherever she 
went. Up until she had gotten sick she visited the BP gas station in Belding on 
a daily basis just to see the friendly smile of the attendant named Taryn. On 
Memorial Day you’d see Alice decorating gravesites of her deceased family 
members.

She loved to have her children and grandchildren over for Christmas dinner and 
was always famous for burning the dinner rolls because she was too busy talking. 
Alice had a love for music and would drive down by the River and listen to her 
music or read her Bible. In Alice’s younger years she was the life of the party 
and she loved to dance; mainly the twist. Her and her husband Johnny used to 
communicate with several friends on the CB radio and Alice’s handle was “Country 
Girl”. Alice loved her children… but loved her grandchildren more. Alice would 
babysit (spoil) many of her grandchildren so their parents could work. She even 
potty trained most of her grandchildren. She loved grandchildren so much, she 
became a Foster Grandmother for Ellis School in Belding for several years.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Johnny C. Ortiz on February 
18, 2018; a son Donald; her brothers, Thurland, William, Leonard, Robert, and 
Albert; and a sister, May.

Alice is loved and survived by her son, Johnny M. Ortiz; three daughters, 
Kristine & Scott Houston, Connie Ortiz, and Melissa & Carlos Tapia; twenty-two 
grandchildren; eighteen great-grandchildren; a sister, Mary Hagadus; and several 
nieces and nephews.

The family extends their heartfelt appreciation to Alice’s nurse, Katrina, at 
SKLD who was her “Sunshine” for the nearly four years, and to the many Heartland 
Hospice Chaplains that came and prayed with her to keep her faith throughout the 
years.

Due to continued state restrictions on public gatherings, private services will 
be held on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at Christiansen’s Michigan Cremation & 
Funeral Care, 511 S. Franklin Street, Greenville. Pastor Madelyn Thompson of 
Maple Valley Community Church (and one of Alice’s former hospice chaplains) will 
officiate and burial will take place privately at River Ridge Cemetery in 
Belding.

Memorial contributions may be directed to either Heartland Hospice or the 
Alzheimer’s Association.

To send a message of sympathy to the family, sign Alice’s online guest book, or 
to share a favorite memory, please visit: www.MichiganCremation.com 

Arrangements are entrusted to Christiansen’s Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, 
Greenville, (616) 754-5638.

Additional Comments:
Service: Sat. 16 January 2021
River Ridge Cemetery, Belding, MI

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