Jean Ortego

Jean Aylia Fontenot Ortego, 86, a native of Oakdale, LA and a resident of Prairieville, passed away on Friday, July 1, 2022 after briefly suffering from injuries sustained in a fall. Jean is survived by her children Kenneth Odrie Ortego, Karen Ortego LaCroix, Konnie Ortego Wren, Kevin Mark and his wife Gwen York Ortego, and Kristina Ortego Thibodeaux. She is also survived by her grandchildren Brandon Paul LaCroix and wife Melissa, Ashley LaCroix Bourgeois and husband Ray, Lane Dyson Pate, Corey James Thibodeaux and wife Jordan, and Kevin Mark, Connor Odrie, Lindsay Marie, Madeline York, and Matthew Thomas Ortego; as well as her great grandchildren, Cameron Paul and Clayton George LaCroix, Ray Howard, Abigail Michelle, and Joseph Odrie Bourgeois, and Tate Odrie Thibodeaux. Jean is also survived by her sister-in-law Ruby Ortego and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by the love of her life, her husband of 65 years, Odrie Ortego, her parents Stephen and Leola Fontenot, her brother and sister-in-law Leo and Versie Fontenot, her in-laws Albert and Thelma Roberie Ortego, her brothers-in-law Ervin and Sanford Ortego, and her sister-in-law Batilde and her husband Russell Lafleur. During high school, Jean competed in and won various vocal competitions and developed a love for music. Less than a month after graduating from Oakdale High School at the age of sixteen, she married Odrie and they moved to Baton Rouge to begin their life together. They were one of the first families to join the newly established St. George Parish, where Jean was both an organist and vocalist at Mass for many years. Jean was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She had a deep and abiding faith in God, and she will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her. A special thank you to her caregivers at Sunrise Assisted Living and St. Joseph’s Carpenter House who were so kind and giving and took such good care of Jean. Visitation will be at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Prairieville on Wednesday, July 6th from 9:30 – 11:00 with a funeral Mass to follow at 11:00 am. Pallbearers will be her grandsons and great grandsons, Brandon LaCroix, Lane Pate, Corey Thibodeaux, Connor Ortego, Matthew Ortego, Ray Bourgeois, Jr., Ray Howard Bourgeois, III, and Joseph Bourgeois. Burial will follow in the St. George Cemetery immediately after Mass.