Mary Ortizvelez

June 19, 1912 - Dec. 11, 2010

Mary Philiomena Rudkowsky Malatesta Ortiz-Velez, 98, was born on June 19, 1912 in Albany, NY to Vladmir Joseph DeRudkowsky and Julianna Morav of Austria. Vladmir worked for the railroad and Julia was a cook for the seminary. They had four daughters: Mary, Anna Crawford of Long Island, NY and Elnore Bishop and Julia Pagano, both deceased. Mary met Silvio just before he was shipped overseas in WWII and they were married upon his return from Europe on June 22, 1946. The couple moved to Hoboken, NJ where Silvio, his brothers and his father had their Ironworks - Malatesta & Sons on #12 Adams St. They had three sons, Robert, Ralph and Charlie and quickly outgrew their apartment. Silvio purchased land on Center Avenue in Fort Lee, NJ and built a house there for his family. Mary was primarily a stay at home mom, active in church and school activities and ran a ceramic studio out of her home. She babysat everyone’s kids in the neighborhood. When the boys were in high school, she went to work at Prentice Hall, a scholastic book publisher, as an executive secretary. She and Silvio retired in Jamica Bay Mobile East, in Boynton Beach, FL where they were active in that community. She was a member of the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church. Silvio died Dec. 9, 1989 at age 79 after a long illness. Mary later married a long time acquaintance, Candido James Ortiz, also from Jamica Bay, in March of 1990. They were happily married for 15 years until his death. Mary moved to Troutman, NC to be near her son, Robert, when she was 95 years old. She was still driving a car. She belonged to the Catholic Church and went to the Troutman Seniors for lunch and socialization. She lived on Shenandoah Loop for 2½ years before becoming a resident of the Gardens of Statesville until she went to be with God on Saturday, December 11, 2010. She lived a long life. She was a good and faithful person who always spoke her mind. She was also a terrific cook and was infamous for her Christmas cookies. She is survived by her sons, Robert of Troutman NC, Charles of Dexter ME, and Ralph of Katy TX. She had six grandchildren, Alicia, Brittany, Donald, Jill (deceased), Marc and Steven, and three great grandchildren, Benicio, Sadie and Corben. A visitation for Mrs. Ortiz-Velez will be held Thursday, December 16th from 6 until 8 p.m. at Troutman Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Statesville. Interment will be in Florida. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to any Habitat for Humanity.