Juan Antonio Rodriguez

November 21, 1933 – October 1, 2024

Juan (Tony) Rodriguez, at his home in Hemet, California went to be with the Lord after serving 20 years in the Marine Corps, almost 20 years with the Veterans Administration and more than 30 years of federal retirement.

Born in Humacao, Puerto Rico to Rosa Maria Rodriguez, he lived, along with sisters Lucy and Lydia, until age thirteen in a small shack along the river. Due to his unknown father abandoning the family, he helped support the family by catching fish, eels, shrimp, and other things in the river (he loved to fish) for sale to restaurants and individuals. Also sold mangos and other items he was able to collect. Attending school, he learned how to play the trumpet and fell in love with Latin Tangos, especially those recorded by Carlos Gardel.

After age thirteen the family resided in the Brooklyn areas of New York. Along with school, to help his mother (who worked as a garment district seamstress) he worked at Levitt Manufacturing Co. He loved baseball and became an avid Yankees fan relating how he often would sneak into Yankees games. In his teens, with a growing dislike for the living conditions and New York, he wanted a change. While in New York Times Square, he saw some US Marines in their dress blues. Impressed he found a recruiting office and joined the Marines.

He spent 20 years in the Marine Corps wanting to make it 30. Served in the Korean War saying it was the coldest place he had ever encountered sleeping next to a rifle. Served two extended tours in Vietnam during the mid and late 60s. Aside from war, most of his career was at different bases in Southern California providing opportunities to fish and participate in the Marine Corp band. In 1956, he met Melba the love of his life, at a friend’s house in Santa Ana, California. They married six months later, had four children adding to the four children Melba had from a previous marriage. Residing in Southern California allowed him to enjoy his love of fishing (Oceanside, Delmar Beach, Camp Pendleton) with his kids, love of dancing with Melba, family beach outings and proximity to Melba’s family and relatives in El Cajon. They remained married for 61 years until Melba’s death in April 2018.

In 1972, at El Toro Marine Air Base in Orange County, he was up for a Master Sergeant rank. To gain the rank he had to return to Vietnam for another tour, he seriously felt he would not return home from a fourth tour in a war zone. He decided to abruptly retire choosing to move the family to Puerto Rico where he had not resided since the age of thirteen. The family (four younger kids) moved to Levittown, Puerto Rico closer to his mother, sisters, and other relatives. With serious unemployment on the island, he took a $5 an hour file clerk job at the San Juan Veteran’s Hospital. A position opened in accounting that he took, followed by a lengthy career in building management at VA Hospitals in Albuquerque, New Mexico; San Juan; Wilmington, Delaware; and Lyons, New Jersey. In the early 90’s due to the need to be back in Southern California to care for Melba’s mother, he retired from the Veterans Administration.

In 1996, they relocated from El Cajon to Hemet, CA. While living in the Hemet West Mobile Home Park, he enjoyed fishing the ponds, playing pool, playing poker with the guys, golfing, dancing, and many activities the park offered. Tony is survived by daughters Margie Colquitt (husband Barney), Janice Owens (husband George), Sandra McDowell, Rosa Wade (husband Greg) and sons Danny Galway (Donna), John Rodriguez (wife Wendy), Robert Rodriguez including many grand and great grand kids. Son Larry Rodriguez passed away in 2023.

In measuring the success of a person, one should start at the beginning. From bleak challenging times as a child, tough times in rough areas as a youth, to surviving three war time tours, to two distinguished careers, raising eight children and living to 90. That is a lot of success. Dad always says God got him through war. Reminds me of the “Footprints” poem where God carried him through tough times. Now it is time for him to rest in the Lord’s arms forever.