In the early 1900s, carpenter and miner...

In the early 1900s, carpenter and miner Francisco Ochoa and his wife, Eulogia, left the Mexican state of Chihuahua to get away from a fomenting revolution. They settled in Denver, Colo., and raised 11 children.

That was offspring enough to guarantee a large family tree. And sure enough, more than 80 years later, 130 people--96 of them direct Ochoa descendants--gathered this weekend at the Torrance Holiday Inn for a family reunion.

Wearing red ribbons proclaiming “Ochoa Reunion ‘88,” they greeted each other in a hospitality suite, enjoyed a dinner and dance Saturday night and will wind up everything this morning with brunch.

“It’s already success,” reunion organizer Ramona Masthay said as she met many family members for the first time. Masthay’s mother, born Dolores Ochoa, died in 1986, the last of the original 11 children.

“We’re very loving, caring and warm people,” Masthay said of her family. “A lot of us have very fond memories of the folks (the original 11) getting together for Christmas or during summers in the country. They all got along very, very well.”

The reunion has drawn people from across the United States. A 36-member contingent from Topeka, Kan., came by Amtrak. Favian Ochoa, a young grocery clerk and construction worker from Owensboro, Ky., had never been on an airplane until he flew out for the reunion.

“I didn’t sleep because I wanted to see what things looked like from 31,000 feet,” Favian Ochoa said. He said he kept a record of the flight, taking 72 photos from the airplane window.

Carlos Ochoa, an aerospace engineer from Mountain View in Northern California, reminisced about his uncle, Frank Garcia, who was mentioned in Life magazine when he stood up President Truman in 1945.

He said his uncle was to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism during World War II, but because Garcia had not seen his mother in 3 1/2 years, he went home to Kansas instead of flying to Washington to be decorated by the President. “Life had an article about the incident that asked, ‘Where is he?’ ” Carlos Ochoa said. His uncle got his medal later.

Masthay, who lives in Long Beach and is an executive secretary at a Gardena aerospace company, said her idea for the reunion was sparked by a feeling that the family should see each other “other than at funerals or weddings.”

In February, 1987, she sent out flyers and received 102 responses. Cousins Carmen Larragoity of Rancho Palos Verdes and Mary Almanza of Lakewood helped her organize the complex party. It was 40 phone calls and 225 letters later that the weekend reunion arrived.

“We could not find the daughter of one uncle, Masthay said. “We do not know where she is. One family is represented by only five people, which is sad.

“One person, who lives in Monterey Park and is in ill health, said ‘no’ ” when asked to attend, she said.

Masthay said she doesn’t know exactly how many Ochoas there are, but she is working on a genealogy to find out.

Meanwhile, the people who responded to her invitation are having a nostalgic time in Torrance. Said Favian Ochoa: “It’s very, very fascinating to meet all of these people who are my flesh and blood who I didn’t even know existed.”