Ana-Aegi Ortiz-Clothiaux

Ana-Aegi Ortiz Clothiaux Ana-Aegi Ortiz Clothiaux (aka Anne Egete), age 65, died in her home surrounded by family and friends on October 8, 2025. After many years of living with manageable levels of cancer, the disease finally progressed to a stage she could no longer fight. Faced with a sudden turn and just months to live, Ana sustained a loving and open-hearted way of Being to her last breath, welcoming friends and family until she could no longer sit up to share thoughts, prayers, or a fragrant pot of tea. Ana was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on February 6, 1960, the second of six children born to Clara A. and Eugene J. Clothiaux. Ana was a kind, sensitive, and independent soul, "a force," much like her father, whom she loved fiercely. She derived her greatest joy in her final years being a grandmother (known as "Grammy" or "Nammy") to her three grandchildren: Nathan, Georgia, and Thea. Her kids, Dominique and Jean (aka Michael), grandkids, and greater family of siblings, nieces, nephews, and in-laws, often spoke of their love for her, this strong, creative, and generous woman with so many talents. Ana never missed a chance to celebrate a birthday or holiday, to carve pumpkins, dye Easter eggs, or search out four-leafed clovers or other forest floor treasures. She taught all the kids how to swim, even a nephew on a short visit from Idaho. She made beaded necklaces and pottery, taught crafts of all kinds, and cooked exquisite meals of perfectly crusted fish or duck, accompanied by salads made with special vinegars with just the right balance of flavors to be unforgettable. Ana always set a beautiful table with a collection of tablecloths to mark every turn of the season. She valued locally derived ingredients and took the kids to the market to learn to appreciate the gifts of farmers. After a day of crafts and adventure, her granddaughter Thea loved telling jokes with Nammy at bedtime and said her Nammy made her feel safe and confident. Ana saw the world through a lens uniquely her own and befriended colorful, free-spirited people throughout her life. She sought deep connection and would open her home and cook a meal fit for royalty, not just for family, but for anyone who touched her heart. It's fitting to share a story that Ana would repeat over the course of her life, a story that had a great impact on her that she would never forget. As a young child, while living in Natchitoches, LA, Ana asked a few friends to gather with her at the local movie theater for her birthday. Upon entering, one of her biracial friends was told she would have to sit in the balcony away from Ana and the others in the group. Ana was heartbroken to experience the devaluing of one human because of the color of their skin. She decided to leave the theater and was not able to enjoy her birthday that day. Our parents reported that it made her sick, and she cried for many days after. Throughout adulthood, Ana recounted with great sadness that such cruelty was present in the world. From that day forward, she committed herself to developing the knowledge and skills necessary to help those who were not given the advantages she enjoyed in life. Ana received her undergraduate degree from Auburn University and her master's degree from Florida A&M University in physical therapy. Ana was gifted with the ability to see and know the hearts of children and chose to work in pediatrics. With her PT gear in her trunk and an abundance of passion, she ventured into rural areas, including those of the northern Florida Panhandle, southwestern South Dakota, and the Piedmont of Virginia. Over many decades of learning from the families she served and through ongoing training and personal work, she became a true holistic healer who brought every ounce of her being to her practice. As an example of the relationships she fostered, a client's mother brought her son to visit Ana in the week before she died. Ana had encouraged this client to start riding a bike but had not yet seen him do it since she could no longer work. On the visit, as Ana's energy was waning, she insisted we transfer her to a wheelchair and move her out to the car garage where she could watch him zooming around the driveway. She coached him from there with her once booming voice, now quiet. In making that last effort as a therapist and friend, she filled her energy cup, one cycle of the pedals at a time, taking in the simple joys of a child's freedom of movement. That was Ana. Throughout her adulthood years, Ana ventured unafraid into the world in search of her people. She sought those who knew the power of the spirit and understood the rhythms of the seasons and the interconnectivity of all life. This brought her into connection with the Muscogee Creek and Lakota Tribes and the Shipibo people of the Amazon in Peru. In her last days, she expressed a deep gratitude that they shared their beautiful cultures with her given the cruel history of white settlement and entitlement. She crisscrossed the country for gatherings with these friends, often with her daughter and son in tow, bearing gifts and receiving greater gifts in exchange. Ana loved the outdoors and natural beauty, loved art and interiors full of light where windows could be opened to allow birdsong to drift in. Her home in Charlottesville was a sacred retreat with a screened-in porch that overlooked a creek with plants she selected and tended to. She came to know these plants like good old friends. Walking around her home was like walking through a living, breathing gallery with paintings, sculpture, photography, and fabrics from around the world filling the spaces. Her home and garden allowed her to recoup from the hurts incurred in the world. The community of friends that Ana made in Charlottesville and its environs kept her solidly anchored to this place. She found great meaning in taking her two granddaughters out into the community, whether to a farmer's market, restaurant or bakery, craft shop, store, or library, or for as simple a thing as a stroll down the pedestrian way downtown. Her family here and close circle of friends were a treasure to her. She was humbled beyond words and often teared up speaking of the care her daughter-in-law, Suzanne, provided during the summer of her chemotherapy. In the last months of her life, as her sixteen-year struggle with cancer drew to a close, Ana's friends created a circle around her and her family. To have witnessed it, was to have witnessed the power of love at its purest form, strong enough to sustain a person's joy through the most difficult passage any of us can imagine. Her kids, Dominique and Jean, showed up day after day with steady loving support-Jean always ready with the drill, Dominique there with her medical skills-both grieving inside as they tended to her physical needs, her aesthetic wishes, and her heart. Her brother, Butch, and sister, Jeanne Amie, coordinated travel to be by her side to the very end. As she saw her last days approaching, she wanted everyone to know she felt safe, she was not afraid, and with humor and a half-smile, she also wanted everyone to know, "I never wanted to die in an unfinished garage." For those of us who have camped in this garage, we can share that it was the sanctuary Ana created everywhere she went. Ana-Aegi was preceded in death by her father, Eugene John Clothiaux, a younger brother, John Daniel Clothiaux, her ex-husband, George Leslie Cobb, and her older brother, Pierre Laurent Clothiaux. She is survived by her daughter, Dominque Jenelle Clothiaux, son-in-law Jean Pierre Balderas-Baca, granddaughter, Theadora Balderas-Baca, son, Jean Michael Cobb, daughter-in-law, Suzanne Janel Cobb, grandson, Nathan Bradley Weaver and fianc�e Trinity Haynes, granddaughter, Georgia Leslie Cobb, 92 year-old mother, Clara Ann Clothiaux, her younger brother, Eugene "Butch" Edmund Clothiaux, two younger sisters, Monica Jean Clothiaux and Jeanne Amie Clothiaux, as well as a legion of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and a few elder aunts and uncles. On behalf of Ana and her family of birth, special thanks to Robin Bernhard and Wade Davenport along with all of Ana's chosen family for their incredible commitment to her care all the way to the last breath. Ana-Aegi's burial will take place at 11 AM on Monday, October 13, 2025, at Panorama Natural Burial on Panorama Farms located at 3550 Reas Ford Lane, Earlysville, VA, 22936. Seating is limited, so please bring a chair or blanket if you would like to sit. Comfortable walking shoes recommended. After the burial ceremony, the location of the reception to follow will be announced. In lieu of flowers, we ask anyone who would like to donate in Ana's name to give to her granddaughters' education funds at (gofundme: Ana Aegi Clothiaux). Peace and Love to the end. An online guestbook is available at www.compassionatecremationva.com www.compassionatecremationva.com/obituaries/ana-aegi-ortiz-clothiaux/ Compassionate Cremation Services of Ruckersville, VA is handling the arrangements.

Ana-Aegi Ortiz-Clothiaux

February 6, 1960 - October 8, 2025