Frank J. Ortiz

Frank J. Ortiz, CPA. of Albuquerque, NM, passed away of natural causes on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at the age of 90. Born in Santa Fe, NM, he was the first son of former Santa Fe Mayor Frank S. Ortiz and mother, Lucy Castillo Ortiz. He graduated as valedictorian of St. Michael's High School, class of 1948 in Santa Fe, NM. After serving in the U.S. Navy aboard a naval destroyer between WWII and the Korean War, he attended New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, NM where he earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He received his Master's in in Public Administration from the University of NM and was honored as one of NMSU's 100 Outstanding Alumni at their Centennial celebration in 1988.

Frank married Lucille Salazar in 1954 and began a long career as an auditor with the NM State Controller's Office, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) in Los Alamos. He was later employed as Controller of the Los Alamos Medical Center before joining the U.S. Department of State under the President Kennedy / Johnson Administrations. As a U.S. diplomat and Economic Advisor to the country of Ecuador under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program, he was assigned to the Ecuadorian Office of the Comptroller, where he assisted the Ecuadorian government with designing financial controls relating to Ecuadorian governmental budget operations. After returning to the United States with his family, he was employed as an auditor for Sandia National Laboratories. There he managed the payroll division, the internal audit division, and the corporate tax department. During his nearly thirty-year career at Sandia, he and his team were responsible for obtaining a 33-million-dollar refund of New Mexico gross receipts taxes for Sandia Labs, the largest gross receipts tax refund in the history of the state of New Mexico at that time.

Frank was a well-known Certified Public Accountant, having had his own practice in Albuquerque, NM since 1971. For almost 50 years, Frank advised small businesses and individuals in the areas of accounting, income taxes, payroll, and financial planning.
In addition to his professional contributions, Frank's personal contributions include serving as Chief of the Corrales Fire Department, Treasurer of the Museum of Nuclear Science and History, and the Board Member of the Central NM Middle Rio Grande Soil and Water Conservation District and the Corrales Water Shed Authority. Frank was an active supporter of the Southwest Chapter of Healing the Children and served as Treasurer for many years.

Frank was predeceased by his wife, Lucille, who died November 22nd, 2015; and by their two sons, Michael P. Ortiz, MD, and John M. Ortiz, who died July 26, 1995, and May 30, 2004, respectively. He is survived by four children, Frank J. Ortiz, III and his wife Rose, Anne S. Ortiz, MD, Mark A. Ortiz and his wife Yvonne, Linda Lashen, and her husband Woody: ten grandchildren, Juan Carlos Provencio, Miguel A. Provencio, Claire Alecksen, Therese Sedillo, Irene M. Ortiz, Daniel M. Provencio, Elizabeth Hernandez, Mark S. Ortiz Joanne P. Ortiz, Reina E. Ortiz and eleven great-grandchildren.

A Rosary will be held on Thursday, August 5, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., FRENCH -Westside.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, August 6, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 1818 Coal Place, SE in Albuquerque, NM followed by interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 7999 Wyoming Blvd., NE in Albuquerque, NM.