Peter "Pete" O. Rodriguez

Peter O. Rodriguez passed away on August 20, 2022, at the age of 83.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jose and Ramona Rodriguez; a brother and a sister; many friends; and his pastor, Buddy.

Pete is survived by his wife, Imelda Rodriguez; three daughters, Gabriella Clint, Carolyn Garcia, and Patricia Aguilar; three sons, Peter Rodriguez Jr, Paul Rodriguez, and Eddie Jasso; a brother, Julio Rodriguez; two sisters, Ramona Moigis and Emma Martin; his fur babies, Chiquita, Julio, Marley, and Rocky; a special niece, Virginia; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Our loved one, Pete O. Rodriguez, was born in 1938 in the small town of Haden, Arizona. He was the fifth child of Ramona and Jose Rodriguez. As a child, Pete was a ‘Jack of all trades,’ a prankster, and a hunter. He would get his 22 and his dog Piedra and go hunting for a couple of days. As a ‘Jack of all trades,’ this boy would go to the dump and gather up materials and would put together bikes and roller skates and made playhouses for his sisters along with numerous other things. This ‘Jack of all trades’ continued into his adult life. As a prankster he was bad. He once pulled out the fangs of a rattlesnake and placed them on his teacher’s chair. Him and his brother, Julio, would collect black ants and fire ants and would make a circle in the dirt and place the ants in the middle to watch them fight. To their surprise, some ants would escape and bite them. But the worse one was when he and some other boys put the principal’s car on the auditorium stage; they got in so much trouble.

As a teenager he got a job at the local mine. Unfortunately, one day a platform fell in the area filled with silica and trapped him and his best friend. The sirens were blowing and the whole town came to the rescue and only Pete survived.

At the age of 17, he enlisted in what was to be the love of his life. He joined the Army. From the day Imelda met him, she knew his love for the Lord, family, and the Army was what he lived for.

He spent sixteen and a half years in the Army and proudly served three tours in Vietnam picking up dawn soldiers. He was wounded three times while in Vietnam and still mourned for the youngsters he lost in his platoon. He traveled all over the world, except Spain. To the very end, he would drop a war story in a second. He was very friendly, so his stories are all one world.

Pete met Imelda, the love of his life, 43 years ago at South Crest Baptist Church. When they met, Pete had five children and Imelda had one child, making a big and beautiful family.

Pete Rodriguez was a loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend who is now in heaven with his loved ones and friends. Until we meet again!

A funeral service will be celebrated on Friday, September 9, 2022, at Southcrest Baptist Church at 11:00 AM. Rite of Committal with Military Honors will follow at Coastal Bend Cemetery at 1:00 PM.