Obituary of Frank Ochoa, JR

DOB 05/04/1931 DOD 01/17/2026 Written and provided by family. Frank Ochoa - 1931-2026 Frank Ochoa, Jr of Richland passed away peacefully on January 17th surrounded by his family at the age of 94. Frank was born in 1931 to Francisco and Magdalena Ochoa in Fort Morgan, Colorado. He was one of six children and moved with his family to the Yakima Valley when he was eight years old and settled in Harrah. He attended school in White Swan, graduating in 1949 while boxing and playing baseball whenever he could. Throughout his life he maintained friendships from those days. He grew up on the Yakama Indian Reservation and his neighbors Grandma Tina and Big Ben took care of Frank and his siblings through the illness and death of his mother. The impact of the native culture stayed with him for the rest of his life. He started farming with his father and brother Louis while he was still in school. After graduation, he stayed on and grew sugar beets, turnips, corn, peas, tomatoes, and melons. In 1954, he moved to Moses Lake and became a foreman for a man who would become his mentor. Chi Omori taught Frank modern farming techniques, earning his lasting gratitude. While he lived in Moses Lake, he also joined the Moses Lake Police Department as an officer. It was during this time period that he was raising his eight children with Lucy Villegas Ochoa: Rudy, Frank III (Zeke), Kathy, Jackie, Lucy, Sharon, Pat and Frances. Family was his strongest success and remained his greatest joy in his later years. In 1962, he started farming for himself on a 70-acre farm outside of Othello. He was honored to be awarded the Soil and Conservation Farmer of the Year award in 1968 and was featured in the Outstanding Farmers of America publication in 1974. 1977 took him to Basin City where he began raising an astonishing variety of seed crops, including kale, endive, turnips and plantago. In 1978 he planted over 600 acres of sugar beets and was recognized in 1979 as the largest sugar beet farmer in Washington state. He was proud to continue the family business of caring for the land by partnering with his sons to farm in both Othello and Basin City. He continued to add new crops to his operation and was named the Washington State Mint Farmer of the Year in 2012. Athletics played an important part in his life. After high school he played baseball with the Yakima Bears as a catcher. He was a boxer, and started The Othello Boxing Club with his friend, Hugh Sloan. They ran the club together for years, earning them the title of Co-Citizens of the Year for the community of Othello. He was a Little League and baseball coach, starting with his own sons and moving on to community teams that went on to win awards and championships. He believed in contributing to whatever community he was a part of. He served as the director of the Othello Jaycees organization, worked with a committee to award Top Farmer awards for the region, spoke in Olympia several times about labor issues on behalf of the farming community, was a member of the Hanford Clean-up Advisory Board, served on the Asparagus Board, ran a private hunting preserve for the Family Sports Club, and hosted large seed crop tours and visiting farmers from other countries. He met Arlene Johnson Hammons in 1988. Their first date ended with him catching a hockey puck that was headed their way in the stands. They married in 1991. They joined and he was baptized into the Hillspring Church (formerly the Cathedral of Joy) in 2003 and it became an important part of his private life. Frank and Arlene retired from farming and made the move to the Tri-Cities in 2012. Here, he continued his commitment to the community by serving his neighbors in various capacities. At one point, he owned the only snow blower in the neighborhood and took care of their entire street with pride. He freely handed out gardening advice and served as the neighborhood contact for the Pasco Luminary event. Frank continued to gather with classmates and friends from his youth, and to maintain relationships that he had gained throughout his life. He and Arlene loved to travel, visit the ocean, take daytrips to Bickleton to for the yearly arrival of the bluebirds, and hike.   In his 94 years, Frank had many dogs that filled spaces in his heart. They weren't animals, but true family members. His latest companion was a Yorkie named Bucky. He took pride in showing off Bucky’s latest tricks to anyone who stopped by. Frank is preceded in death by his parents Francisco and Magdalena, his siblings Louis, Nellie, Sally, and Marylou. He is survived by his wife Arlene, sister Sophia, 8 children, 20 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. As was his wish, a celebration of life will be held at Hillspring Church 1153 Gage Blvd Richland WA. February 27, 2026 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Tri-cities Chaplaincy In memory of Frank Ochoa Jr 1480 Fowler St Richland WA 99352.