‘We’re all just broken:’ A family reflects on loss during the holidays
Months of pandemic and isolation have left many Colorado families to navigate the holidays while grieving a recent loss.
That includes the family of Larry Ortiz, the well-known owner of Ortiz Custom Cycles on Colfax Avenue in Lakewood.
At the shop where Ortiz built a reputation for building and customizing motorcycles for decades, family and friends shared their memories and deep sense of loss over his unexpected death.
Ortiz's family said he was 49 years old when he died of COVID-19 complications in November, after spending weeks in the hospital. Family members said Ortiz was healthy before he contracted the coronavirus and the severity of his illness was unexpected.
“I felt that I had brought him into this world and I wanted to see him take his last breath. We were there with him, and it was really one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, to see my son go like that,” said Niola Ortiz, Larry’s mother. “I can’t believe that a virus like this can come and take such a healthy man like my son and just turn him into nothing.”
The Ortiz family described Larry as a family man who loved taking his loved ones on impromptu camping trips, and made sure everyone got together for holidays.
“That’s one thing my dad always loved, was our gatherings,” said Brandon Valdez-Ortiz, Larry’s son. “Whether it was Fourth of July or Christmas, he loved all of us being together. That’s what he loved most.”
The family said their Christmas will be a lot different this year without him.
“You play the role, you put the tree up, you decorate the yard. But … you know, your heart ain’t in it,” said Niola Ortiz.
“I think every year around this time, it’s going to be hard,” said Brandi Trujillo, Ortiz's niece.
Larry's daughter Danielle Ortiz, a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, says long days at work around the holidays delivering packages and cards have helped distract her from her loss. Still, she says there are constant reminders of her grief.
“It’s hard. There’s really no way of comforting me. People will comfort me all day and nothing takes over that feeling of my dad being there. I just wish he was here,” Danielle said.
"It's just been the most surreal experience I've ever gone through," Valdez-Ortiz said. "I never thought about him going until he was an old man."
Christopher Gonzales, the shop’s general manager, said Larry Ortiz was a father figure and best friend to him. He says the loss has been the hardest thing he’s ever had to go through.
“We're all just broken and trying to hold each other up,” Gonzales said.
