Josefa Ortegon: The Woman Who Changed My Life

Born on September 13, 1947 in the little town of Jacona, Michoacan, Mexico, lived my aunt Josefa Ortegon. She is the oldest of her twelve brothers and sisters. She was very little when she saw the struggles that her family went through. Her mom couldn’t work due to taking care of her children. So the only one who worked was her father, an alcoholic who would use his money for his addictions and going out with his friends. She felt the urge to take action and help her family in any kind of way that she could. At the age of 9 years old, she made the decision to take responsibilities as the oldest sister and help out her family. Josefa started working in the fields picking out grapes and putting them in a brown paper and rolling them up into rolls. Her dedication towards working for her family helped provide some food although sometimes it wasn’t enough on the table. The few money helped to provide for her family. Every year her aunt Virginia and uncle would come to visit. They offered her to come to Watsonville, California to be able to obtain a good job with a better pay. Without hesitation she took the offer and moved to California. By then she was 17 and started working making more money for her family. Every time she got paid, she would send the money to her family in Mexico.
So now all of her brothers and sisters are married and have a family and even grandchildren. Josefa was a kind, noble person who only showed her love, and affection to her family and others. She loved helping anyone in need. June 1, 2012 she passed away at the age of 64. She died at peace because she was satisfied for all the things she had accomplished though her hard sacrifice. One thing she left for all of us was her kindness and soft hearted personality she had. We all thank her because if it wasn’t for her who knows where all of us would