Farewell Is Tearful but Colorful for Orange Councilman Ambriz

Just in case anyone mistook Steven F. Ambriz for a typical, button-down bureaucrat, hundreds of people wore Hawaiian shirts to the popular Orange councilman’s funeral Wednesday to set the record straight.

“He didn’t take himself too seriously,” said Fred Whitaker, an Orange resident.

“That’s a rarity for any public official.”

More than 1,000 mourners jammed Holy Family Cathedral in Orange to pay tribute to Ambriz, 35, who was killed May 25 when a wrong-way driver struck his car head-on in Orange Park Acres. Sara Ward has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of drugs and possession of marijuana.

Former Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, wearing a black and tan Hawaiian shirt, broke down several times while eulogizing his former chief of staff. Spitzer, now an assemblyman, spoke of the senselessness and irony of his friend’s death.

While working for the county as a senior staff analyst, Ambriz spent long hours overseeing programs to install child safety seats and organizing CPR classes.

“He dedicated his life to making sure others knew how to protect themselves,” Spitzer said. “He’d walk up to complete strangers and spend 20 minutes fixing their car seat, making sure it was safe.... How could somebody that good be so tragically stricken?”

Spitzer said Ambriz’s “laid-back” approach to politics and government was the perfect contrast to his own intense personality. “I’m wound as tight as 100 rubber bands, so I needed somebody with his style,” he said. “Steve was able to take a step back and look at the big picture.”

Ambriz, survived by his wife, Bridget, and 3-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, graduated from Orange High School in 1988. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1994. He was elected to the Orange City Council in 2002, becoming one of its youngest members.

Attending were hundreds of Orange residents and elected officials from throughout the county, including Supervisors Bill Campbell and Jim Silva, and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. Several members of the Orange High School Panthers football team showed up in their jerseys.

Seating was at such a premium that hundreds stood alongside the Roman Catholic cathedral’s walls or milled around outside.

“He was a native son,” Whitaker said. “They recognized all the great things he did for them, and they wanted to give something back.”

On the cover of the program, Ambriz was pictured at an Angel baseball game with his wife and daughter. In a letter to her late husband, Bridget Ambriz wrote:

“You were a wonderful father and Kaitlyn was so lucky to have a silly daddy who adored her. We thank you for putting your family first and providing me with a community who will help Kaitlyn and me.”