John "Rick" E. Ortolani - age 67, beloved husband of 39 years to Melinda L. (Blais) Ortolani passed away Saturday, July 26 at the Lahey Hospital in Burlington.
He was born in Cambridge, August 24, 1957, a son of the late John A. and Mildred M. (Bennett) Ortolani and was raised in Somerville and moved to Billerica in 1970.
Rick was employed for the last 18 years at Middlesex Truck and was set to retire next month. Before that he worked at Baird, then as a self-employed contractor in the home improvement industry. He was a member of the Woburn Sportsman's Club.
Rick was an avid outdoorsman. He loved camping, canoeing, and hanging by the fire. He dove deep into his passions; woodworking, jeeps, guns and poetry. Rick touched everyone he met in such a positive way. Everyone he met was a better person for it. Even with all of his interests, he always put his family before everything else.
Besides his wife, Rick is survived by his son John D. Ortolani and his wife Stefanie of Tampa, FL; his daughter, Jackie Ortolani and her husband Aidan of Billerica; his brothers, Glenn Ortolani and wife Peggy of Tewksbury and Eric Ortolani and his partner Lisa Murray of Billerica; and his sister-in-law Lisa Ortolani of Billerica. He was the brother of the late Greg Ortolani. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles, and close friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made in his name to All Hands and Hearts, www.allhandsandhearts.org
