LORAIN — Joseph Silva got a bitter reminder from his cell phone on Monday.

It was a message to call his brother, Bryant Ortiz, on his 34th birthday. But Joseph couldn’t do that. Bryant was gunned down Sept. 21 on West 37th Street following an argument at Ray’s Memory Lane bar at West 37th Street and Pearl Avenue. The killer remains at large.

“That message came up, and it broke my heart,” said Joseph, who lives in Cleveland.

Instead of celebrating his brother’s birthday, Joseph and his family spent Monday evening at the spot where Ortiz was slain, participating in a vigil organized by family friend Jessica Cortez. To honor his older brother, Benjamin Stewart led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Ortiz.

Family and friends spoke, as well as Imam Paul Hasan from the Interfaith Ministries United in Peace.

Video from the vigil by filmmaker Joseph Carrion:

Ortiz’s mother, Rachel Asencio, urged the young people in the crowd of about 30 to learn from her son’s death.

“Please don’t drink and go to bars,” she sobbed. “Don’t hurt your moms like this.”

Earlier, she told of how she’d often argued with Ortiz, urging him not to go out to bars. He’d insist he was doing nothing wrong, just visiting with friends and cousins and playing pool. She wasn’t worried about his drinking, she said, but other people drinking and the trouble that could come of it.

“Look what happened,” she said. “Over an argument, just words, somebody killed him.”

A video tribute by filmmaker Joseph Carrion:

Hasan said that people of faith need to step out of the comfort zone of their church, synagogue or mosque if true change is to happen.

“The work is out here, where people need us,” he said. “There are young people who no longer have the desire to do right.”

While Ortiz struggled to overcome a criminal record, friends and family said he gave much to them with a positive outlook and his volunteer coaching in youth baseball.

Some of his players were at the vigil, crying for their coach. Music that Ortiz had helped make was played in the background.

“Before people pull triggers, they should think about the families, the friends, the kids,” Asencio said. “Those kids he coached, they looked up to him. Now, they’re traumatized because an important person was taken away. (Ortiz’ killer) has taken a part of me.

“I don’t see how this is right,” she said. “Over an argument, you take a life? That’s not right, it’s ignorant.”

No matter what Ortiz did in the past, Hasan said, his life had value to God just as the lives of the women found murdered in Anthony Sowell’s Cleveland home had value to God. During the vigil, Hasan read the names of women still missing in the Cleveland and Lorain areas, and offered condolences to those whose loved ones were murdered in Sowell’s home.

Two of Ortiz’s children, Jazzlyn, 17, and Andrew, 14, spoke at the vigil. Andrew thanked the community for its support. Nine-year-old cousin Victoria Rodriguez burst into tears as she read a message she wrote on a birthday card to Ortiz.

Joseph Carrion had known Ortiz for almost 20 years. They’d been close friends but drifted apart in adulthood. When Ortiz returned from Florida two years ago, Carrion said, they renewed their friendship.

“He was a blessing in my life,” said Carrion, who created a video tribute to Ortiz and shared it on YouTube. “He had a way of talking that made you laugh and let you know he cared. He was my best friend.”

The support of friends and the community meant a great deal to the family.

“It makes us feel we’re not alone,” said older brother Ramon Silva of Lorain.

“We’ve got to stop this violence,” Ramon said. “All the hurt. … His kids are now without a father, we’re without a brother and our mom is without a son.”

As the vigil came to a close, balloons with messages to Ortiz written on them were released.

“Sometimes, (Ortiz) would feel lonesome,” Asencio said. “I hope he sees just how much he’s loved.”

Want to help?

There is a fund set up to help pay funeral costs for Ortiz and provide for his three children. Make donations payable to In Memory of Bryant Ortiz, c/o First Federal Savings of Lorain, 2233 E. 42nd St., Lorain, OH 44055.

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

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