Obituary: Julian Perez Ortega, 44, Longtime DCI Employee

Longtime Digital Control Inc. employee Julian Perez Ortega died Aug. 2 as the result of injuries sustained during in a construction site accident.

The Associated Press reported that Perez sustained injuries when a vehicle struck him at a construction site on M-25 in Fort Gratiot, Michigan. The story says that a 28-year-old Marlette, Michigan, woman was driving through the construction zone July 31 when she struck Perez. An investigation is ongoing.

 

DCI submitted the following obituary for their employee and friend:

Julian Perez Ortega, husband, father, fútbol enthusiast and 20-year DCI employee, who was equally devoted to all of these passions, with an emphasis on family and friends, passed away on August 2, 2018, after a jobsite accident in Michigan.

Julian joined DCI in early 1998 as a production assembler on DigiTrak transmitters. His work ethic, personality and fluency in Spanish, got him noticed by the customer service group, where he transitioned later that year. Capitalizing on Julian’s Panamanian roots, it was an easy decision for Julian to move from Seattle to Coconut Creek, Florida where he learned the field ropes from DCI’s Southeast rep.

Being the company man that Julian was, it was not long before DCI asked him to relocate to southern California. Julian and his wife Courtney bought a home in Murrieta where they started their family. Julian’s Southwest territory expanded tremendously to Mexico, Latin America and South America. Needless to say, Julian was on the road a lot.

Seven years later, Julian and his family made another move on behalf of DCI to Indianapolis, where Julian worked as the Midwest Field Manager while also managing the Mexico, Latin America and South American markets.

In April of 2018, Julian was promoted to the North American Field Service Manager position. The customer service team at DCI was ecstatic that such an experienced teammate was selected to manage the U.S. field team.

Julian was good at his work and it was a joy to watch the grace with which he explained the intricacies of DCI’s equipment at exactly the level of whoever he was talking to. He was a person of incredible calm and with an incredible ability to teach – full of patience, serenity, and honesty. Julian transmitted his knowledge with kindness and humility.

There are not enough ways to describe Julian’s effect on the people that he knew. Always a very positive, complimentary person, Julian was a perfect role model for DCI and his family. Julian was always concerned about everyone spending more time with their families and not so much time on the road.

He had an uncanny ability to remain cool and reserved, except when he talked about his love of soccer and favorite player Messi. These qualities made Julian an absolute pleasure to be around.

We have a strong family at DCI and it will extend out to Julian’s family anytime it is needed. We learned a lot from Julian and even though he leaves a void that cannot be filled, we will build on the remembrance of a fantastic friend, excellent co-worker and genuinely great guy.