OTHELLO — Frank Ochoa Jr. did a lot of things in his life, from coaching children in boxing and baseball to helping build Lions Park in Othello to helping raise eight children – and being good at all of that, his family said. And while he had other careers, he really was a farmer.

“The Ochoas have always been farmers,” said Frank’s grandson Rudy Ochoa II. “Farming was appealing to him because he always said, ‘It’s hard work, but you get out of it what you put into it.’ He wanted to be his own boss, he liked the independence and he felt farming was a rewarding profession. If you can build it then you can earn it.” 

Ochoa died recently at 94 years of age; his family remembered him as a strong supporter of his children and grandchildren, and his communities in Othello and Basin City.  

Ochoa grew up in the Yakima Valley in a farming family, his grandson said, moving to Moses Lake, then to Othello in 1960. He learned his craft from his family, and from longtime Moses Lake farmer Chi Omori, Rudy Ochoa said. 

His first priority, though, was his children. He was a lead by example dad, his children said, and he put in the work. He had held himself to account, tried to raise himself to a higher standard and expected his children to do the same when they had children, they said.  

Frank Ochoa was influenced by his own childhood in the 1930s.  

“He wanted us to be able to handle the pressures in the real world,” Rudy said. 

He coached his children’s baseball teams and started a boxing club in Othello with his friend Hugh Sloan.  

“Sports left an imprint on him and he wanted to pass that along to his children and the local youth,” Rudy said.  

Frank’s children said his goal in coaching was not only to teach children the game skills, but also how to apply the lessons they learned about sportsmanship and perseverance to their lives. He was firm but fair, they said, and was respected his teams and their families. 

Part of his commitment to making his community better was his work on Lions Park. There was a swimming pool on the site, but not much else. 

“The rest was boulders and sagebrush,” Rudy said. “Frank Ochoa, Floyd Coffman, Marty Mohs, alongside other coaches, made a proposal to the city and Lions Club to make a baseball complex for the youth. Frank and Pete Taggeres used their machinery to remove boulders, survey and level the land and to help get it going. These men worked together with the youth and future of Othello in mind. They were visionaries and the park we see today is exactly what they had in mind.” 

    Frank Ochoa Jr.