Rafael Ortiz, 30, of Lebanon, passed away unexpectedly on March 19. Ortiz was a professional boxer, with a record of 14-14-2, and a Lebanon High School graduate.

Kim Sarter, Ortiz's sister-in-law, said he fought a bout in Washington on March 8 that was called by his own corner.

"His trainer… stopped the fight because they could tell he must be really sick or something," Sarter said. "He wasn't his usual self."

Ortiz returned home on Sunday, March 9. "It all went downhill from there," Sarter said. Ortiz, suffering from flu-like symptoms, went to urgent care and then on March 12 was admitted to the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. In the early morning hours of March 14, he was transferred to Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

The exact cause of death is unknown.

"They found he had influenza A," Sarter said. "Whether he had other things going along with that, we don't know. Some of the results are still pending."

It could take up to a month to get some of the test results back, she said.

Ortiz is survived by many family members in the Lebanon area, including his wife, Adelina, and two children, Marcos, 9, and Anali, 7. He was devoted to his family, Sarter said. His family often went to the gym while he practiced, and he was teaching Marcos how to box.

Ortiz moved to Lebanon at the age of 17 and graduated from LHS in 1996. He began boxing as a teen. Between his five-day-a-week job at Furniture Factory, he fit in hours of training.

"Year-round, if he wasn't in the ring boxing he was practicing for an upcoming fight," Sarter said. "That's just how he was, along with being a loving husband and father."

He trained at Victory Gym in Albany with Jesse Ramos. The gym was closed for a few days last week in honor of Ortiz's death.

He was on the track team in high school and spent lots of time running in Lebanon.

"I think everybody in Lebanon has seen him run," Sarter said. "He was always running."

The fact that he was physically fit makes his death harder to confront.

"He was extremely healthy; that's why we just don't understand how that could happen to him," Sarter said.

During his hospitalization, Ortiz was examined by several specialists. The family has insurance but isn't sure it will cover all of the medical costs. To offset those expenses and funeral costs, the family has set up the Rafael Ortiz Memorial Fund at Washington Mutual Bank.

Any money remaining after funeral and medical bills will go to a college fund for Ortiz's children.

"Which is exactly what he would want to happen," Sarter said.