Yolanda Tenttori Ortiz

Yolanda Tenttori de Ortiz passed from this life to join her savior, Jesus Christ, and her daughter, Carla, on February 6, 2023.

To her blessed children she was "Mami;" to her adoring husband she was "Amor de mi Vida;" and to her treasured grandchildren, she was "Abba," the babies' first pronunciation of "abuela," which was her favorite moniker. She radiated love, grace, style, and wit. She taught us to be brave and generous and to pursue our highest aspirations. In the extreme highs and lows of her life, the Lord Jesus was her guide.

Abba was born in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico on June 3, 1938, to Salvador and Esperanza Tenttori. She had two older sisters, Martha and Renee. Salvador died when Abba was two years old, leaving her mother unable to support their daughters, and Abba lived in an orphanage for close to ten years. When speaking of that painful time, instead of dwelling on her hardship, Abba chose gratitude for the lessons and qualities she learned there, like orderliness and discipline, which served her throughout her life.

When Abba's mother remarried, Abba returned to live with her mother, stepfather, sisters, and two new younger sisters, Leticia and Patricia. Abba enthusiastically pursued her passion for art and design by enrolling in design school. After completing her studies, Abba's application to her first design job ended in rejection. Not taking "no" for an answer, Abba offered to work for a month without pay, asking the employer, a prominent advertising agency, to pay her only if they were happy with her performance. She exceeded their expectations, made a name for herself, and absolutely cherished her work creating set designs for advertisements. Later in life, Abba went on to design and build a contemporary home, become a painter and sculptor, and design many beautiful home interiors. And she passed on her talent and love of art to her son.

In her twenties, Abba met the one-of-a-kind Carlos Bernardo Ortiz-"Abbo" to us-a talented civil engineer. Abba never passed up an opportunity to recount the day they first met, which was a scene befitting of a Hollywood-scripted "meet cute." Abba was driving a shiny black car full of girlfriends to the movies when Abbo pulled up next to them at a stoplight. Abba's friends quickly noticed his movie-star good looks and pointed him out to her. When Abba looked over, their eyes met. As Abba retold it: "it was less than a few seconds, and I thought to myself, my goodness, I have never seen a man soo, soo handsome!" When the light turned green, Abbo abandoned his original intended destination-which he never revealed, but we all suspect was to see a different girl-and instead followed Abba and her friends to the movie theater, where he gentlemanly approached them and asked if he could introduce himself. He then purchased all the girls' movie tickets and popcorn, seated himself next to Abba, and thus began a 60-year storybook romance and uncharted adventure.

Abba and Abbo married in 1965. The blissful bride moved with her new husband to the barren Chihuahua desert, where Abbo supervised the construction of El Granero dam, which would become one of the largest earthen dams in Mexico. They moved into a humble one-room house. As she did for years to come, Abba made the most of what they had. She polished the concrete floor of their tiny home so much that it shone like marble (several decades before polished concrete floors became a posh style). And she set up a beach umbrella by an eddy in the winding Conchos river, which they enjoyed on Abbo's occasional day off. A year after they married, Abba and Abbo joyfully welcomed a son, Carlos Eduardo, and two years later, a daughter, Carla. Abba often looked back at their simple life in the desert and said they were some of the happiest days of her life.

After several years of dam construction in remote locations, Abbo and Abba moved back to Mexico City. But sensing they could provide more opportunities elsewhere for their young children, and after seeing a slideshow of an acquaintance's travel to Canada, Abba developed ideas for moving abroad. In a pattern that repeated innumerable times throughout their 57-year marriage, Abba hatched an ambitious vision, then Abbo executed its implementation with endless energy, creativity, and cheer. This first involved a cross-continental exploratory road trip of more than 10,000 miles in their orange Volkswagen van, complete with shag carpet, Abbo's self-installed mini-fridge, and no seatbelts. Then on two separate occasions, they sold all of their belongings on their front lawn and moved from Mexico City. Despite initially speaking less than ten words of English (or French) between them, they first moved to Montreal, Quebec in 1975. And in 1980, they landed in Austin, Texas.

In 1997, tragedy struck when a cardiac arrhythmia caused the devastating death of their adored daughter, Carla, at age 27. Like Abba, Carla had a magnetic personality that drew in people. Her passing left an unfathomable void in their lives, and for several years Abba and Abbo struggled to find peace or joy. God's gift in their grief was the birth of their two grandchildren, Breck and Alexa. Abba's joy returned in the regular weekends that they spent at Abba and Abbo's home. She doted on Breck and Alexa and loved them with all of her heart, and she was immensely proud of the capable and kind young adults they've become.

Throughout her life, Abba gave generously to those in need, occasionally to Abbo's slight panic. She gave away countless possessions, including a couple of cars, to those she felt needed them more than she did. One day, she encountered a young woman who was totally unable to provide for her young child. Abba reviewed her check register, determined their family's available bank balance, and handed the woman a check for the entire amount. Abba also gave of her time, through the churches to which she and Abbo belonged and by ministering regularly to women in prison in Mexico City.

Abba will be dearly missed by her husband Carlos, son Carlos and daughter-in-law Ellen, grandchildren Breck and Alexa and their mother Julie. We were privileged to love and be loved by her, and we will always remember the example she set for us. The family gives enormous gratitude to Jenny Jensen of Aspen Hospice for her unequalled care over the last year.

The family will hold a private memorial to inter the ashes of Abba's remains at the family's gravesite at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. Friends may send condolences and remembrances to 2507 Westlake Drive, Austin, Texas 78746 or donate in Abba's memory to Mobile Loves & Fishes (mlf.org), International Justice Mission (ijm.org), or another charity serving children or adults in need.