George Ortiz, a longtime CDCR employee, passed away Jan. 18, 2020.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during Vietnam, where he was wounded in battle and honorably discharged. He started his CDCR career in 1979 as a Correctional Officer at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) in Soledad.
He promoted through the ranks to Captain. He later served as a Parole Agent in the San Francisco area.
He was promoted to Special Agent in the Office of Correctional Safety’s Special Service Unit and later promoted to Senior Special Agent and then as the second in command in the Law Enforcement and Investigations Unit.
He was then assigned to California State Prison, Corcoran, as the acting Warden. He retired after that assignment.
He returned to CDCR as an Associate Warden and Chief Deputy Warden at CTF, the prison where he started his career.
He retired a second time in 2007.
Read more tributes to staff and retirees who have passed away.