Francisco Ortiz

Francisco Ortiz was born in 1931 in Casablanca, Morocco. His family was from Tarifa, Spain, across the Straight of Gibraltar. His father was a fisherman and the fishing was better on the other side of the Straight, so Diego and Juana Ortiz raised 10 children in Morocco, including Francisco, the 4th of 10 siblings.

Francisco took to the seas as a young man, joining the Merchant Marines. He sailed all over the world for over 12 years and he was always happy to tell you about the many places he had travelled. If a City had a port, he had been there and could tell you all about what it was like in the 1940s and 1950s. One of those Cities was Brooklyn, NY and that’s where he met his future father-in-law, Paco Calvo, who worked as a bartender and cook near the Brooklyn docks and had a soft spot for Spanish Sailors who wandered in. That’s how Francisco met his bride, Rosa and they were married in 1960.

Francisco would work any job that was available and did a variety of things from installing mufflers and painting cars to building the concrete foundations on the Verrazano Bridge. Eventually he returned to working on ships and started a 35 year career in Ship Servicing. He started by using chains and hooks to lash down cargo on container ships and ended by being the long time Supervisor of the only Company he worked for during this career. Dealing with crews from all over the world, it helped that Francisco spoke English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Arabic and could name all the parts of a ship in 20 other different languages.

Francisco and Rosa started a family in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Elizabeth, NJ in 1979. Their two children blessed them with five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, and they became the center of Francisco’s life when he retired 30 years ago. He loved to fish in any body of water imaginable at any time, day or night, in all seasons, no matter the conditions or temperature, whether the fish were biting or not. Once a fisherman, always a fisherman! Francisco also enjoyed sports, from Soccer (rather, futbol) to Baseball, Football and even Golf, he was a big fan, even though his teams always seemed to disappoint him. It’s suspected that he must have liked the suffering, at least a little.

Francisco loved dogs and little kids. And both, the dogs and the kids, loved him.

His family is grateful that Francisco was able to live an honest and good, long life, where he was able to “do it his way” almost all the time and left this world as he wanted; in his home, in no discomfort and surrounded by people who loved him.

Francisco Ortiz is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Rosa Ortiz; his children Frank and Rosemary and their spouses Angela and Jim; his grandchildren Sara, Marisa, Brian, David and Rose and their spouses & partners Alex, Michial, Ryan and Charlene; his great-grandchildren Louise, Lucille and Leonard; his siblings Madeline, Jeanette, Diego and Maria Louise; and dozens of nephews and nieces to the 2nd and 3rd degree who all loved him and will miss him dearly.

Visitation for Francisco will be held Friday, July 25, 2025 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at KROWICKI MCCRACKEN FUNERAL HOME, 2124 East Saint Georges Ave, Linden.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend a funeral on Saturday, July 26, 2025, directly at

St Genevieve's Church, 200 Monmouth Rd, Elizabeth, where a funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am.ew Interment Ocean View Cemetery, 315 Amboy Rd, New York, NY 10306.