Benjamin T. Ortiz passed on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, at the age of 47 after battling an illness for 4 years. He was born on May 15, 1968, in Santa Barbara, California. From there, he and his family moved to Lompoc in 1988.

Ben was employed for more than 11 years at Softshare, a company in the e-commerce software industry, working his way from a Customer Service Representative, to a Senior Technical Support Representative and finally to an E-commerce Specialist. He then became Owner and Lead Technician of Ortiz Technology Services providing IT services to clients ranging from home and home office users to small and medium size businesses. His focus was to provide the best solution possible for people in need of his services.

He is survived by his wife Anne Ortiz; his son Michael Ortiz; his mother and stepfather Lynda and Michael Tucker ; his father and stepmother Benjamin and Phyllis Ortiz Jr.; his sister and brother-in-law Annette and Aaron Hernandez; his nephews Rafael Cisneros, Jr. and Robert and Courtney Cisneros; his great-nephew Jesse Cisneros. He was also blessed with numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He will be deeply missed by all his family and friends.

The things in life that Ben enjoyed, he wanted to enjoy them with people. He loved comedy of all sorts and had an incredible mind for trivia. He was a terrific competitor when it came to trivial pursuit. He also loved playing music and singing with others, whether it was with his guitars, keyboard or often his drums; the most important was to share it with someone. His doors where always open for "Football Sunday" where his friends and family could gather to eat and watch the games and end up moving to the garage for a "jam session". He never wanted the gathering to end.

A Memorial Service will be celebrated at 10 AM, Tuesday November 3, 2015 at Lompoc Foursquare Church (125 North C St, Lompoc). A continued time of celebration and fellowship will follow at La Purisima Parish Hall (337 South I Street, Lompoc).