Ogdon Rico

He was born on November 18, 1930 in Corona, California and raised in Ensenada, Mexico. He became a Christian at a young age and spent his youth ministering teens in Mexico. As a young man he attended the Church of the Nazarene College in Pasadena, California where he met his wife Georgina.

Prior to finishing college, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and was deployed to Korea as a morse code operator. His son Richard was born in 1956 and his daughter Leila was born in 1957. After leaving the Air Force he continued his education graduating with a degree in religion and education. He was ordained as a Nazarene minister in 1960 serving as a pastor for the Latin American Church of the Nazarene in southern California for 7 years prior to moving to Chandler in 1969 where he served as the local pastor for almost 50 years.

Dr. Rico also worked for the Chandler school district as a school counselor retiring in 1991. In 1992 Dr. Rico was recognized by the City of Chandler for his service to the community and a proclamation was issued deeming October 8, 1992, “Ogdon Rico Day” in the City of Chandler. In 2000 he was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Chamber of Commerce for his life-long work in the community. He also received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2015.

During his retirement Dr. Rico traveled extensively with his wife and was fortunate to visit the holy land on two occasions.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, his two children Richard (Brenda) and Leila (Tony), his brother Steve and his granddaughter Michelle. His legacy lives on through the countless lives he impacted and touched throughout his 90 years of life. We were beyond blessed to have him in our lives, and he will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and congregation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are unable to hold a public memorial service at this time; however, we hope to hold a public Celebration of Life memorial service by the end of 2021.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest a donation to the Latin American Church of the Nazarene in care of Mary Alvarado. Their address is 633 E Carla Vista Dr, Chandler, AZ 85225. Phone number (480) 899-2472. You can also use the following link to donate through GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/reverend-ogdon-rico-memorial