Concetta Ortenzo

On August 27th Concetta (Connie) Ortenzo passed away peacefully at St. Clair Hospital, surrounded by her four loving children. She was preceded in death by her devoted husband Salvatore (Sal), her brother Dominic Santaguida, and her nephew Tom Denne. Connie is survived by her sister Josephine Santaguida and sister-in-law Barbara Santaguida; children Janet Ortenzo, Anthony Ortenzo (Cindy), Carole Ortenzo, and Linda Ortenzo; nieces and nephews Kathy Cassell, Rob Ortenzo (Maria), Mike Denne, Bev Martin (Russ), Nick Ortenzo (Mel), Dottie Linn (John), Kris Hayes (John), Camille Bodnar, and Anthony Santaguida (Beth); grandchildren Michael (Sarah), Claire, Dominic, and Grace; great-grandchildren Gabriel and Rosalie; and great-nephews and -nieces Dominic, Jonathan, Owen, Juliet, and Daphne.
Connie was a force of nature! Strong, loving, humorous (often without meaning to be), a resilient spirit (overcoming numerous medical challenges at an advanced age), and an advocate for all those near and dear to her.
She was always very proud of her Italian heritage and of emigrating to the U.S. when she was about four years old. She loved to tell stories about her early childhood and the voyage she and her mother made to America to join her father who had come ahead of them to establish a home in Pittsburgh.
More than anything, Connie loved her family, and no sacrifice on behalf of her husband and children was too great. At the same time, her husband and children knew all too well when something displeased her. Connie was well known for her lasagna dinners. She loved to feed people and hosted many a family holiday dinner at her house. She also had a beautiful voice and sang in the St. Susanna Catholic Church Choir. In addition, she served on their parish council. Connie and Sal were passionately competitive bowlers, and nothing pleased Connie more than when her team bowled against Sal's team and defeated them. She was also the secretary, bookkeeper, and tax preparer for the family business, A. C. Electric, and for many years she prepared tax returns for everyone in the Ortenzo Family. Connie was, is, and will always be dearly loved and will most certainly be greatly missed.
The Ortenzo family extends their gratitude to the St. Clair Hospital ICU staff, particularly to Dr. Andrew Perez, for their care and compassion toward Mom and all our family.
Family and friends are most welcome to attend the viewing on Friday, September 5th from 2-8 PM at Pittsburgh Cremation & Funeral Care, 3287 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317. The Mass celebrating Connie's life will be on Saturday, September 6th at 10 AM at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, 108 North Dithridge Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
To honor Mom's heritage (and ours), we invite you to make a donation in lieu of flowers to charities that support immigrants, such as Pittsburgh-based Hello Neighbor and Casa San Jose. Because Mom also valued supporting children in need in the U.S. and around the world, you might consider donating to organizations such as Maryknoll, Plan International, and Feed the Children.