Kristi Lee (Chance) Ortega passed away from this life on Saturday, September 24, 2022, in Centerville, TN, at the young age of 50, after a short battle with cancer. Kristi was born on November 18, 1971, in Dickson, TN.

She graduated from Dickson County High School in 1990 and received a Bookkeeping Certification from TCAT in 1991. She married Phillip Aaron Ortega in 1990, and together they had 5 children and 2 grandchildren. Kristi was a stay-at-home mother and part-time tax preparer for the majority of her adult life, later working as a Retail Assistant Store Manager, Home Health Aide, and Nurse’s Assistant during her final decade.

Kristi enjoyed arts and crafts and had a particular passion for crocheting. She crocheted many beautiful scarves and beanies for her loved ones throughout the years and was also known to donate her handmade items to nursing home residents. Kristi was an avid music lover that enjoyed experiencing live concerts with her children. She was a collector of ink pens and any item associated with her favorite animal, the mighty elephant. Kristi had an affinity for numbers and learning new information, but it was her love for her children and grandchildren that she spoke of most often. She will be forever loved and missed.

Kristi was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Harry and Myrtle (England) Sanders and her paternal grandparents Leon and Irma (Brown) Chance.

She is survived by her 5 children Nicholas Ortega, Anné Ortega (Tommy Demorest), Victor Ortega, Tomas Ortega, and Melina Ortega, and her husband Phillip Ortega, all of Centerville, TN, her 2 granddaughters Nova and Saphyra Hoemig of Colorado Springs, CO, her mother Sheila (Sanders) Chance of Burns, TN, her sister Kisha Chance (Jody Russell) of Dickson, TN, her father Charles Edwin Chance of West Tennessee, her closest friend Disa (Curtis) Gibbens of Denver, CO, her beloved dog Chomper, as well as several aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

There are no services currently scheduled.  Memorial arrangements will be made at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.