Olga Ordonez

Olga was born in Havana, Cuba to Pedro and Filomena Fuentes. She graduated from Havana Business University and worked for Sabates, the Cuban subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, in the 1950s. She met Armando Ordoñez while at a dance at Club Nautico, a Cuban beach club. They were married in 1957 and had two children, Laura and Carlos. In 1962, she and her young family fled the communist regime in Cuba, leaving all their possessions behind. They moved to the Dallas area where Olga taught Spanish at a private school. Eventually, Olga and Armando moved to Houston and in 1979 founded La Voz de Houston, a Spanish language newspaper for the growing Hispanic community. Just five years later, Armando passed away, leaving Olga at the helm of the struggling paper. Under her leadership, and with the support of her second husband, Orlando Seoane, who she married in 1994, the paper became profitable and then became one of the highest circulation Spanish language newspapers in the country. She sold La Voz to the Houston Chronicle in 2004. After selling La Voz, Olga and Orlando enjoyed traveling and the company of a tight-knit group of friends that met weekly to pray the rosary.

In lieu of flowers and to honor Olga’s memory, the family requests that donations be made to the Fred Fuertes Children's Education Fund, a fund established for her great-niece and great-nephew when their father passed away unexpectedly last May. Olga’s nephew Fred worked with her at La Voz for many years. Donations can be made to: The Fred Fuertes Children's Education Fund c/o GCEFCU, 5953 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX, 77505. (For any questions, please call Carmen Fuertes Chauviere at 281-684-7949.)

Olga is survived by her husband Orlando, her children Laura Ordonez Wernicke and Laura’s husband Kent, Carlos Ordonez and Carlos’s wife Jennifer, and her grandchildren Dustin Wernicke, Rebecca Wernicke Anthony, Cody Ordonez and Jamie Ordonez.

Visitation will be Monday, May 16 from 5 to 8 pm, with a rosary beginning at 6:30 pm. Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at noon. All services will take place at Grand View Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 8501 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena, Texas.