Ernesto O. Cortes

Ernesto O. Cortes was born in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico on December 22 1943 to Manuel Cortes and Cecilia Ochoa De Cortes. He was the youngest of four boys, their names being Gerardo, Manuel and Felipe. He attended Gregorio A. Garcia Grammar School in Torreon, where he completed his elementary studies. In 1957, he moved to Tijuana and in 1959, he received his green card. He then came to Los Angeles County and lived in Highland Park. He started attending Abraham Lincoln High School where he met Francisco Diaz, Daniel (his brother in law), Juan Moreno, and Luis (el molote). In the early sixties, he started playing soccer in “El occidente.” Francisco Diaz invited him to Los Azteca’s and he stayed with him there. Soccer was his passion and he was a very good player. He lived for soccer and loved to play. A professional scout even tried to recruit him for the big soccer league, but his mother refused.

His first job was making chairs and then he moved on to a uniform laundromat. His third job was at Style Park where he worked for 3 years as a corner cutter. He met Eugenia Nieto through her brother, Daniel. They dated for 2 years and were married in 1965. In 1971, Alfonzo Hernandez helped him get a job at Kal-Kan where he worked for 33 yrs. He had three children: Eugenia, Ernesto, and Rosalia. In 2003, he was forced to retire because of problems with his hip. Throughout the years, he drank and as the years passed, his drinking got worse. He drank beer and hard liquor every day to ease the pain that his osteoporosis was causing. His left hip was replaced first, followed by the right hip a few years later. His alcoholism created problems in his relationships and in 2005, he moved to the high desert. There he hit “rock bottom” and surrendered to the Lord. He was invited to a service where he received Jesus Christ as his Savior, invited Him into his heart and was invited to an “Encuentro” (retreat) that lasted 3 days. When he returned home, after drinking for almost 60 years, he never drank alcohol again. He was free from the addiction; that’s when his passion became the Lord and he danced before Him. He was able to have 12 years of sobriety, was able to get a second chance to be a role model for his grandchildren and show them his real personality. He was very much loved by his family, loved by his friends and liked by everyone that crossed his path in the high desert. He liked to play and to joke around and was a funny person to be around. He gave nicknames to all of his friends. He always liked to dress well. He had an obsession with clothing and shoes, that he later started giving away to family and friends.

His health started declining over the last five years of his life. He was having small strokes and his vertebrae were deteriorating. Gradually, he started to lose his speech abilities. On April 24, 2020, he was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with very severe form of cancer in the pancreas and liver. He passed away on April 29, 2020 at 3:16 pm at his home, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife, 2 daughters, son, and 11 grandchildren; 9 boys, 2 girls, and 3 great-granddaughters. He was a giving person, a good provider and during the last ten years of his life and his relationships were restored. He had the courage to accept that he needed the Lord.