Rudy Carrillo

Rudy was born on August 20, 1938 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, the eldest of five children. He grew up in Silver City, New Mexico where he attended Western High School and was selected to represent his class at New Mexico Boys State. He proudly played his saxophone in the high school marching band and was All State First Chair saxophonist. Rudy inherited his love of music from his Dad and as a child, his father would play the trombone, Rudy the saxophone, his brother the clarinet and his sister the piano - the first step in his lifelong love of music. He was a gifted pianist and played the piano by ear. After graduating high school, Rudy proudly served his country in the US Marine Corps (Sempre Fi). He was equally as excited to receive phone calls from family and friends on the Marine Corps birthday as he was on his own. Building on the electronics skills he learned in the USMC, he worked for Motorola Sierra Communications while pursuing his degrees in English and Math at Western New Mexico University. In 1963, Rudy married Maureen Powers and they had 3 children, Patti, Susan and David. After graduation, Rudy worked for IBM as a software engineer for 27 years where he was recognized with 3 IBM Means Service awards. After retiring from IBM, he taught Cisco networking classes at Richland College for another 16 years.

Rudy was an active member at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for over 40 years. He led the Corpus Christi Ministry for 17 years and also served as the Director of Ministries of Care. He served as a Eucharistic minister and a lector at Mass and taught Confirmation classes for many years. The SJCC Community was a big influence in his life, not only as a place of worship, but also as a social spot to enjoy coffee or to visit with friends.

He maintained life-long friendships, with a few that spanned over 75 years. He enjoyed travel adventures with family, friends and for work. He still joked recently that after a successful trip to Tokyo, the Japanese considered him THE expert engineer from IBM (In reality, they had overlooked a very simple task that he immediately identified after months of remote troubleshooting). His favorite domestic trips were to the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad, New Mexico, and of course, to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. He and his family traveled to Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy, including Vatican City. His last and favorite trip that he made with Maureen and the SJCC Community was to The Holy Land where he was able to see and experience all the places that are at the heart of his faith.

He served as a great example to his family and friends for his deep devotion and conviction to his faith. He is our saint!

He was preceded in death by his parents, Camilo and Herlinda (Ramirez) Carrillo and his brother Ruben Carrillo of Kent, WA. He is survived by his wife of over 59 years, Maureen (Powers) Carrillo and their children Patti, Susan and David (Sarah) Carrillo and his 4 legged little girl, Phoebe, his brother Ernie (Vicky), sisters Priscilla Mathena, and Adela Garcia (Tony) as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews including his God children Rachel Powers Carrasco and Daniel Carrillo.

Pallbearers are Alejandro Lopez, Joseph Powers, Loren Williams, Norman Jones, Patrick Block, Rene Lopez, Terry Bowman & Van Niemela.

Services will be on Saturday July 1, 2023, at St. Joseph Catholic Church located at 600 S. Jupiter, Richardson TX 75081. The Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM followed by The Rosary at 10:30 AM and Funeral Mass at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Stephen Ministry of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church or to Rudy’s Niece’s convent, The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma. 1965 Michigan Ave, Alma Michigan 48801.